Ex wife & ex employment

[Guest]

Hello everyone, thanks for having me.

I really need some advice.

I was making an accident claim on my previous employer. My ex wife works there. Our marriage broke down. I had a blue door worker for domestic violence, police were involved and bank accounts were frozen. The witness statement for my previous employer regarding my accident claim was by my ex wife and is very very malicious and full of complete lies making me out to look a complete liar, also stating things that shouldn't be stated due to GDPR. Is it right that my ex employer can get my ex wife to make a statement seeing as though the breakup was on very bad terms with police etc involved.

[efpom]

How wonderful, who could ask for more? - your ex will be taken apart in the witness box.

[Matty B]

You say that she made claims that she shouldn't have made because of GDPR but I wonder if she is saying this was in her knowledge because at the time you were living together

It is all well and good saying she will be taken apart in the witness box but law is sometimes about playing the smart game- if they make an offer is it reasonable because if you go to court and a judge thinks their offer was reasonable you may end up losing out because you won't get costs. Lawyers are very very expensive unless you get a fixed fee arrangement.

[Guest]

Hi, thanks for both of your replies. They have made no offer as they are using my ex wife statment. She has stated lots of lies in it, the best one is saying I broke my wrist on the sunday then threw myself on the floor the following thursday at work to make out I broke it then.... I'm pretty sure if I had broken my wrist the sunday before I couldn't work four more days! She also stated that I claimed for a car accident in the statment (she was the one who claimed not me which of course I can prove). My ex employer knows things ended on bad terms with police involved and she was not to know where I was living etc and I'm now worried that they have given her some indication of where I live etc. As the document I received has her address on so what have they shown her with my address on! I was under blue door to get away from this all and now they're using her as the only statment! There is also other bits in there, the solcitor said she got a stament off someone who said they didn't see me fall but I did report it to him after. But my ex wife says in her statment that he saw me fall.. as you can see she is full of absolute lies and is making me look out to be such a fool! I honestly cant believe that they are able to use an ex wife as a statment as it is just all words. It is full on maliocuis!

[Guest]

Might I also add she signed the witness statment to say all what she said was true, yet I have proof that practically everything she said was a lie. So where do I stand?

[efpom]

If I understand correctly, you are making a claim for some type of industrial injury. Proceedings have issued, with you as the claimant, and the defendant seems to be defending that claim in full.

Is that correct?

I would be surprised if the defendant has not passed the claim to its insurers, but that seems to be the case here. Can you confirm that that is so?

Can you also confirm whether you are legally represented?

On witness statements:

Witness statements are evidence in chief. Historically, a witness gave oral testimony, and was cross examined on that. The modern procedure is that the oral testimony is not taken, that evidence is given in a written witness statement, and the witness is cross-examined on that. There is no property in a witness, so a witness is not entitled to legal representation, when in the witness box.

The weight that a judge will give to a witness statement, will be quite low if the witness does not present herself for cross examination. If the witness is cross-examined, on her evidence in chief and bears up under the cross-examination such that the facts contained in her witness statement are basically correct, the weight that the court will give to that witness’s testimony will probably be quite high.

If the court, on the other hand, concludes that the witnesses testimony was a pack of lies, the judge will say something along the line of “I found the witness to be a thoroughly dishonest witness” or if he wishes to be kind might say “I can give little weight to the witnesses testimony”

[Guest]

Hi,

Thanks so much for the response.

Yes I have legal representation but I haven't been able to talk to her yet as I am not able to call her until 4pm and I received this letter last night.

Yes it is an injury claim.

The witness has signed and written a statment to be true.

First lie is she states we were married for 8 years longer than we were.
Second lie is the car accident claim which she actually claimed for off my insurance, I didn't claim as I wasnt injured, she claimed she was.
3rd lie is she says I injured my wrist (broke it) on sunday and came up with a plan to some how 4 days after throw myself on the floor on "purpose" at work. I dont see how anyone can go around doing their normal duties for 4 days with a broken wrist if that was the case!
She's basically saying my whole claim was a master plan... yet I've had bad accidents with this employer and never claimed for one as I felt they were my fault, where as this one accident I did claim for as this was pure negligence on their side.
She also brought up a claim from about 10 years ago with a different ex employer where my hand was crushed, and stated I got about £4000 more than I actually did, which I also have proof that I did not get anywhere near the amount she stated.

[efpom]

You should not have been served with any documents - that should be served on your solicitor.

I recognize your irritation, but no useful purpose is served by challenging the truth or otherwise of the witness statement now - that is to be done in court, when the witness is in the witness box. Just get your evidence together to dispute the truth of the witness statement, and give that to your lawyer.

Be guided by your lawyer, rather than anything on here.

[Guest]

Thanks efpom.

Do you think when we send the evidence back to the lawyer and pick her statment apart that they will go back to the ex employer and the ex employer may ask for it to be sorted outside of court once they realise they probably dont have a leg to stand on?

Is there any chance of that or will it be a case of we have to go to court now... as I haven't yet given any evidence or my side back yet?

[efpom]

Don't know - but if it is as you say it is, your lawyer may propose a settlement, together with a costs warning - Be guided by your solicitor.

[Guest]

Thank you for your help. I will speak with her later today. I just needed to have some form of knowledge of how it works as I'm a huge worrier and having to wait all day is awful

Thank you again

[Guest]

Hi efpom,

Good news my solcitor said I can pull out the claim any time with no fees and that what they are doing is malicious and it then becomes between two exs.

She said we can go back with our points and proof before any courts are even involved.

She is off to a board meeting tomorrow to see if what they have done they are actually allowed to do, as my ex employer has basically used the one thing I was frightened of to make me back off from the claim. So she is taking my case with her.