Woman loses 823000 damages claim for throwing a Christmas tree

Woman loses $823,000 damages claim for throwing a Christmas tree. Picture

Down Angle Symbol A symbol in the form of an angle pointing downwards. A participant throws a spruce tree at the 16th World Christmas Tree Throwing Championships in Weidenthal, Germany. According to The Irish Independent, Kamila Grabska was photographed taking part in a similar competition in Ennis, Ireland. Uwe Anspach/Picture Alliance via Getty Images

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

A woman in Ireland who sued an insurance company for $823,000 has had her lawsuit dismissed after the court saw a photo of her taking part in a Christmas tree-throwing contest.

Kamila Grabska, 36, sued RSA Insurance over alleged back and neck pain resulting from a car accident in 2017, The Irish Independent reported.

The accident left her unable to work for more than five years, she said.

Grabska also said she couldn't carry her children, do basic tasks or lift a heavy bag, and that her medication had to be brought to her bed at times because of the pain, the outlet said.

However, in a photo shown to the Irish High Court in Limerick, Grabska was seen throwing away a Christmas tree in January 2018, the outlet reported.

Grabska, a resident of the town of Ennis, was one of the people photographed throwing 1.5 meter tall spruce trees at the local tree throwing competition, as seen in this BBC article. Participants compete to see who can throw a tree the furthest.

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

A 2018 article in the outlet named her the winner of the women's competition. In the main image of the article, Grabska is seen wearing a yellow jacket and work gloves and appears to be throwing a tree.

Just days before the competition, Grabska had informed doctors of constant pain in her spine, back and neck, according to The Irish Independent.

“It's a very large, natural Christmas tree and it's thrown from her in a very agile motion,” Stewart, the presiding judge, said, according to the outlet. “I’m afraid I can’t help but conclude that the claims were grossly exaggerated.”

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

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

Her hearing was dismissed Thursday, court records show.

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