The time for New Year’s resolutions is upon us. Whether it is increasing the number of steps you take or trying to cycle or run further than usual, fitness tracking apps are a helpful tool to keep you right. Those same apps, and particularly those that use GPS location data, can also help insurers and defenders to investigate unmerited claims.

We recently acted for a local authority in a claim brought by a professional cyclist. The cyclist claimed to have hit a sunken manhole cover on a country road during a training ride. Street View images of the area were provided with the claim form and lodged at court when the claim litigated. The manhole cover may have been a defect that required repair before the accident – in which case our client would have been liable.

On attendance at hospital the cyclist was able to recall the incident and reported having hit a pothole. She later told her medical expert that she could not recall the period before or after the accident. This warranted further investigation.

As with many professional athletes, the cyclist was a prolific user of Strava. Her Garmin file for the ride had been posted on Strava together with a full set of heart rate, power and cadence readings. On closer inspection, the GPS data showed the cyclist passing the allegedly defective manhole cover. Cadence and power readings showed continuing effort at that point and for a prolonged period thereafter. The data showed an abrupt stop around half a kilometre further along the road. Preliminary discussions with forensic collision investigators supported the accuracy of the data.

Our client’s position was that, though an accident of some form had occurred, it had not been caused by the allegedly defective manhole cover. It was for the cyclist to prove the location and the nature of the defect that had caused her accident and to establish that this ought to have been repaired before the accident. The Strava evidence was disclosed at an early stage in the proceedings and an offer of abandonment made. The case was ultimately abandoned shortly prior to the civil trial, seeing a significant saving for the public purse.

This case shows the benefits of profiling beyond the usual social media sites - a fitting New Year's resolution for those defending personal injury claims.

Peter Morrison, Senior Litigation Executive, was the file handler. Chris Taylor, Associate, assisted with profiling investigations and strategy.