Kae Burnell-Chambers, 44, wept as she was sentenced to 26 weeks in prison at the High Court in London for contempt of court. She admitted misleading medical experts and lying in legal documents about the extent of her condition.
Burnell-Chambers claimed she had been left severely disabled following treatment for a spinal condition at a hospital in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, in 2016. She alleged she could barely walk and needed around-the-clock care, mobility aids, and a specially adapted home.
But investigators later discovered videos showing her walking unaided, dancing, and taking part in body-painting competitions in the UK and abroad including the World Bodypainting Festival in Austria.
Sadie Crapper, representing Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust, told the court that Burnell-Chambers had “fraudulently exaggerated her symptoms” to boost her claim.
Her lawyer, Ben Bradley KC, urged the court not to impose a prison sentence, saying her partner, Benjamin Potter, was unable to care for their teenage son because of a conviction for possession and creation of child sexual images. He added that the family had faced harassment and had to move homes, with their son now being home-schooled.
However, Mrs Justice Tipples said social services had made alternative arrangements, allowing Potter to live with his parents while Burnell-Chambers’ mother and daughter moved into the family home to look after her son.
The judge told her: “You deliberately lied to all those medical experts, leading them to believe you could not do very much at all.”
She added that a custodial sentence was necessary “because of the very serious nature of your contempt”.
Burnell-Chambers was also ordered to pay £135,000 towards the NHS’s legal costs.
As she was led from court by officers, she broke down in tears and hugged her mother.
The case forms part of a wider NHS crackdown on fraudulent claims, with the health service paying out around £3.1 billion a year in compensation to patients.
