Virginia Giuffre’s injuries may not have been entirely caused by a recent car accident in Australia, her family has suggested.

Ms Giuffre, who previously came to public attention after accusing Prince Andrew of sexually assaulting her as a teenager, last week shared a photograph of her bruised face along with the claim that she had been in a car accident and would die in four days of renal failure.

Sky Roberts, Ms Giuffre’s brother, and Amanda, his wife, have now suggested her injuries were not solely a result of the accident.

“Let’s be clear, she never stated the bus accident [was] the cause of all her other injuries,” Mr Roberts told People Magazine.

Addressing the critics who have questioned whether his sister was lying about her health, Mr Roberts asked: “Is it going to take her to die for people to believe her?

“Or can you just simply be a human and look at the facts and understand this is somebody that legitimately got into an accident [and] legitimately had underlying issues?” he said.