A former British soldier is taking the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to court for £3.7 million over a trench foot injury but now faces accusations he faked the condition.
Brian Muyepa says the condition came on from wet boots being worn for over five hours following a training exercise during the winter of 2016.
However, the former Royal Artillery gunner is being accused of using ice blocks on his feet before he was due to be examined by doctors.
Lawyers for the MoD admitted it breached its duty of care towards Mr Muyepa earlier this year but following video footage of him dancing emerged online, they are now claiming he is "exaggerating" his claims.
Mr Muyepa was diagnosed with a non-freezing cold injury, AKA trench foot.
He says the injuries have left him with crippling pain in both his hands and feet.
His military career continued until he was medically discharged in January 2018 and he started his claim for compensation.
Mr Muyepa’s £3.7m claim figure is made up of costs including over £800,000 for loss of career and £1.7m to pay for carers.
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On leaving the military, he claimed he can only walk around "100mm with a stick" and stand for just "10 mins".
MoD barrister Andrew Ward told High Court Judge John Kimbell QC a witness has claimed Muyepa talked about "packing ice blocks" on his feet to trick doctors.
Mr Ward said: "Our case is that the claim is entirely fraudulent, that the claimant discussed with someone else packing ice blocks around his feet to fool the infrared thermography tests at the Institute of Naval Medicine."
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Following the MoD’s claims, experts will be expected to demonstrate if ice blocks could fool the machinery used in carrying out the medical assessment.
Mr Muyepa denies the MoD’s claims and says he will be continuing his claim against them.
A trial is set to be heard later this year.
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