DJ's £100,000 injury claim faces challenge over alleged honesty, court hears

A London court is hearing a claim by electronic music DJ Chloe Caillet that an accident in June 2018 left her unable to work for six months. She is suing O'Hare Holdings Ltd for about £100,000 after a section of brick cornice fell from a building outside the Kipferl Cafe on Golborne Road, North Kensington, striking her as she looked at her mobile phone. Caillet says the injuries included soft-tissue damage to her neck, shoulder and foot, plus back injuries, bruising and abrasions across her legs and hands, and a host of psychiatric after-effects such as dizziness, sleep disturbance, anxiety and memory impairment. She claims the incident stalled her rising career as a DJ, producer and multi-instrumentalist and left her unable to perform for six months.

The case has taken a new turn as the defense questions whether the claimed loss of earnings is truthful. Lawyers for the building owner say social media and press coverage show the 33-year-old was performing around the world during the period she claimed to be out of work, including sessions at Burning Man in Nevada and appearances at clubs, launch parties and fashion-related events across several continents. The claimant’s team contends that she misunderstood a question in pre-trial documents when she stated she could not work, arguing that her concern was with performing in the traditional DJ sense rather than making promotional appearances.

Opening the case, barrister Philip Grundy said Caillet had been fortunate that she was looking at her phone when the brick fell, avoiding a direct blow to the head. He noted that the accident caused neck and shoulder pain, back injuries and other soft-tissue problems, but stressed that she remained capable of work. He asserted that the claim for loss of earnings should be viewed in light of her ongoing public activity in the months after the incident.

Lawyers for O'Hare admitted liability for the accident but contended that the claimant’s claim for lost earnings is fundamentally dishonest. They argued that social media posts and paparazzi coverage show Caillet performing internationally in July 2018 through January 2019, including Burning Man in August and September 2018, magazine launches and fashion events in New York in September, a Burberry event in October and the opening night of an Andy Warhol exhibition in November. Defence documents describe these appearances as evidence that she was not unable to work during the six-month period she references. They contend that the claimant’s Instagram evidence, some of which was later deleted, demonstrates a high level of activity during the time she claims to have been out of work.

The defendant’s case is that the claim for lost earnings is not truthful. They say the claimant returned to work as a DJ very soon after the accident and performed at numerous high-profile venues across several continents during the period in question, with evidence drawn from publicly available social media posts disclosed before proceedings began. Barrister Nick Grimshaw told the judge that the claimant’s accounts show a relentless schedule of performances, undermining the assertion that she could not work at all for six months. He said the evidence indicates she was able to work from an early stage and was very busy by mid-September 2018, suggesting the loss of earnings claimed is not supported by the record.

Ms Caillet has acknowledged that some of her earlier answers in pre-trial documents were not accurate, attributing the misstatements to a misunderstanding of the word “perform.” She told the court that she interpreted the term as referring to front-facing DJ sets rather than promotional appearances at fashion events where she may not have had paying crowds. She emphasized that several events during the period did not involve ticketed performances, while noting that she did return to genuine DJ performance with a Paris show in January 2019. Her barrister argued that she did not lie and that the injuries left her with real losses, even if some activities during the period were not traditional performances of the type she would undertake pre-accident.

Caillet is seeking £99,851 in damages, of which about £62,000 relates to lost income in the six months after the accident. The defense has asked the county court judge, Recorder King, to strike out the claim and order the claimant to pay the defendant’s legal costs if dishonesty is established. The trial continues as both sides prepare further evidence and argument regarding the credibility of the lost-earnings claim and the extent of any injuries.