Woman loses $823,000 in injury claim over Christmas tree throwing photo

• A woman in Ireland lost her $823,000 compensation claim over a photo of her throwing a Christmas tree.
• Kamila Grabska, 36, won the 2018 tree throwing competition after telling doctors about her back and neck pain.
• She was involved in a car accident in 2017 that she said left her unable to work for years.

A woman in Ireland who sued an insurance company for $823,000 has had her claim canceled after the court saw a photo of her participating in a Christmas tree throwing contest.

Kamila Grabska, 36, sued RSA Insurance for what she said was back and neck pain caused by a car accident in 2017. The Irish newspaper The Independent reported.

She added that the accident left her unable to work for more than five years.

Grabska also said that she was unable to lift her children, finish basic household chores, or lift a heavy suitcase, and that, at times, she needed her medications brought to her in bed due to pain, via the port.

However, the photo shown to the Irish Supreme Court in Limerick showed Grabska throwing down a Christmas tree in January 2018, the outlet reported.

Grabska, an Ennis resident, was one of the people photographed throwing 5-foot-tall fir trees at a local tree-throwing competition. As seen in this BBC article. Competitors compete to see who can throw the tree the furthest.

The Irish Independent reported that Grabska admitted to judge Carmel Stewart that she had won the competition.

a 2018 article from the outlet She was named the victor in the women's event. Grabska appears in the main photo of the article, wearing a yellow jacket and work gloves, and appears to be throwing a tree.

A few days before the competition, Grabska reported to doctors persistent pain in her spine, back and neck, according to The Irish Independent.

“It's a very large natural Christmas tree, and she throws it with a very graceful motion,” said Stewart, the presiding judge. “I'm afraid I can only conclude that these claims are completely exaggerated.”

The court was also shown footage of Grabska playing with a Dalmatian in a park for about 90 minutes, according to the Irish Independent.

The footage was taken in November 2023, The Telegraph reported.

Her hearing was denied on Thursday. Court records show.

The law firm representing Grabska did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside regular business hours by Business Insider.