Kae Burnell-Chambers sued a hospital claiming it had negligently delayed performing emergency surgery on a spinal problem three years earlier
NHS Trusts with emergency departments in Redhill and Guildford have said their facilities are currently “under significant pressure”(Image: Getty)
A woman who fraudulently pursued an NHS trust for over £3 million in clinical negligence compensation, falsely claiming mobility difficulties, has been sentenced to six months imprisonment after video evidence surfaced showing her participating in body painting activities.
Kae Burnell-Chambers took legal action against Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust in 2019, alleging medical staff had negligently delayed urgent spinal surgery three years prior.
The 44 year old informed medical professionals she required walking aids for mobility, however the trust subsequently conducted surveillance revealing her walking without assistance and taking part in body painting events nationwide.
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She pleaded guilty to contempt of court in July, with her legal representatives arguing imprisonment would adversely affect her son, whose father has convictions for sexual offences.
However, Mrs Justice Tipples determined on Tuesday that Burnell-Chambers had chosen to “deliberately lie” regarding her condition and demonstrated “fundamental dishonesty”, additionally requiring her to cover £135,000 of the trust’s legal expenses.
She stated: “You deliberately lied to all these medical experts, leading them to believe that you were unable to do very much at all and that you were a person with significant support and accommodation needs.”
She added: “You deliberately made out that your condition was always at its worst, when that was untrue.
“This was offending at a serious level that crosses the custodial threshold.”
She concluded: “This is not a case where, having weighed all the relevant factors, the sentence can be suspended.”
Burnell-Chambers, who arrived at court using a walking stick, broke down in tears as she departed to start her prison term.
Sadie Crapper, representing the trust, informed Wednesday’s hearing through written statements that Burnell-Chambers initially developed cauda equina syndrome in 2014.
The medical condition results in severe compression of nerves in the lower spine and demands prompt medical intervention.
Burnell-Chambers arrived at A&E on August 10, 2016, and underwent emergency surgery the next day, but claimed in her legal documents that the trust’s negligence left her unable “to do anything”.
Ms Crapper explained that the trust originally fought her compensation claim, contending she had made a strong recovery and that Burnell-Chambers was “deliberately fabricating and/or grossly exaggerating her symptoms” to secure higher damages.
Contempt proceedings were launched in 2023, with allegations that Burnell-Chambers had hidden “fluctuations” in her condition from medical professionals and that she was able to visit body painting events in Birmingham, Sheffield and Suffolk over multiple years.
The barrister added that Burnell-Chambers’ damages claim featured demands for future care expenses of £833,000, lost income of £692,000 and housing costs exceeding £722,000. However, she stated the genuine value of the claim was “likely to have been less than £200,000”, and that Burnell-Chambers should be imprisoned as she was “entirely to blame for her exaggeration”.
Pleading guilty to contempt of court in July, Burnell-Chambers declared: “I offer my apologies to the court and the claimant. I understand that what I did was wrong.
“I accept that I should be punished for my decisions.”
Ben Bradley KC, representing Burnell-Chambers, argued his client had “significant mitigation” and that her “personal and familial situations are far from orthodox”.
The barrister explained that Burnell-Chambers looked after her son alongside her partner, who is a convicted sex offender.
He added that social services had determined it was not “safe and appropriate” for her son to remain in her partner’s sole care.
Yet Mrs Justice Tipples noted that arrangements had been put in place for the partner to vacate their home and for their son to be looked after by a relative should Burnell-Chambers be imprisoned.
She added that whilst immediate custody “will cause disruption” and “have an adverse effect” on Burnell-Chambers’ son, this was “all outweighed by the very serious nature” of the contempt.
