A MODEL who tried to sue the NHS for £3million after claiming doctors left her struggling to walk was caught “strutting” at a festival.
Kae Burnell-Chambers, 44, claimed a blunder led to nerve damage that left her struggling to walk, get out of a car or even dress herself.
ChampionKae Burnell-Chambers claimed she was left struggling to walk after an NHS blunder[/caption]
But footage showed her ‘strutting’ at a fantasy festival
Champion News ServiceShe was filmed posing as a fantasy warrior[/caption]
But footage revealed the artist and model had taken part in a fantasy festival in 2019 where she was filmed posing and strutting while dressed as a warrior.
The clip was taken just months before Burnell-Chambers launched her £3million pound damages bid against the NHS.
She claimed there was a delayed diagnosis of her cauda equina syndrome – a condition involving damage to nerves at the end of the spinal cord.
While Burnell-Chambers did have the disease, she later admitted exaggerating her symptoms after the social media videos emerged.
She is now facing a potential jail sentence for contempt of court after the footage was shown at the High Court in London.
The judge was told cauda equina syndrome is a crippling condition which occurs when the bundle of nerves below the end of the spinal cord is damaged.
Signs and symptoms include low back pain, numbness and pain that radiates down the leg but early diagnosis and treatment can lead to the long term effects being reduced.
Sadie Crapper, barrister for Northern Lincolnshire And Goole NHS Foundation Trust, said after doctors missed early signs of the condition in 2016, Burnell-Chambers launched a bid for damages.
Burnell-Chambers filmed herself appearing to struggle to walk down a flight of stairs with the aid of a cane.
But in another video, she was seen with her mum at a petrol station “walking with no problem” on the same morning she saw a medico-legal expert displaying high levels of disability.
The footage from the Kustom Kulture Blast Off in August 2019 also showed her “having her body extensively painted and then parading in a show where she walks freely and dances without need for a walking aid”, it was said.
Ms Crapper added: “What you see in these videos is somebody who goes to conventions around the country.
“She’s seen to walk without a mobility aid, crouch and converse about the work she’s doing freely and without any sign of pain.
“The person seen on the videos is markedly different from the person seen in the medico legal documents and her witness statement.
“She has at all times known she participated in these conventions, undertook this painting and modelling, and could walk as she did on the footage now available.”
She said it was the NHS Trust’s case that Burnell-Chambers had “fraudulently exaggerated her symptoms for the purposes of her clinical negligence claim”.
The lawyer continued: “[Ms Burnell-Chambers] now admits that she is in contempt of court and accepts that the custody threshold has been crossed in respect of her wrongdoing.”
Burnell-Chambers admitted her condition varies and that her mobility is almost normal “on good days”.
She also said she exaggerated when she saw the medico legal expert doctor and “misrepresented” her symptoms during her claim.
The body artist added: “I know it was wrong to misrepresent my presentation whilst making a civil claim. I accept that I deserve to be punished as a result.”
Given his ruling, the judge said she signed an admission that she “deceived” the examining doctors “and deliberately changed my presentation”.
This “deliberately interfered with the administration of justice”, the judge told the court.
Burnell-Chambers will now return to court in October where she faces a maximum two year jail sentence.
Champion News ServiceKae claimed she needed a cane or wheelchair to walk in her £3m claim[/caption]
Champion But she was filmed walking around unaided[/caption]
ChampionKae took part in a parade at the festival[/caption]
Champion News ServiceShe also travelled the country to do body painting[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
