Aviva became suspicious when footballer, Gary Burnett, 24, made the claim following an accident at a drive-thru restaurant in Bury, Greater Manchester, where no injuries were reported and the damage was only minor.
The player, who also worked part-time as a window cleaner, claimed he had suffered injuries to his neck and back which left him unable to play for his team, Cheshire-based Northwich Victoria, for around four weeks.
As the claim was suspicious Aviva, represented by Horwich Farrelly solicitors, immediately launched an investigation into Burnett. They found his publicly-accessible Twitter account where he had tweeted about playing when he’d claimed he was out of action. One tweet reading "Nice little trek to Kendal later for footy" - referring to an away match in the Cumbrian town - was posted just a day after the incident.
Further detective work showed him bragging online after knocking higher ranked team Nantwich Town out of the FA Trophy with a second-half goal, less than three weeks after the accident.
The case was dropped by Burnett's solicitors and the courts were able to use recently-introduced powers to rule the claim as being 'fundamentally dishonest'. Such a finding removes the protection claimants have from paying the other party's costs and opens the door to a criminal conviction.
On 13th July 2015, Wigan County Court heard the mountain of evidence against Burnett who chose not to attend the hearing.
The Judge accepted the claimant had misled his solicitors, his medical expert, the defendant and the Court. The Judge concluded Burnett had made a dishonest personal injury claim and had openly publicised his footballing achievements on social media.
The Judge ruled Burnett's claim was fundamentally dishonest and ordered him to pay Aviva's costs of more than £11,000. It is believed to be one of the first such findings in a case which was dropped before reaching the courts.
Dave Lovely, Aviva Global Claims Director, welcomed the outcome saying;
"This case highlights how a minor claim can be seen as an open-goal for fraudsters. However, we are determined to tackle these fraudulent claimants and stop them scoring against us and our customers. It shows that we will pursue and prosecute those who commit fraud, while taking care of genuine claimants.”
Jared Mallinson, partner at Horwich Farrelly added;
"The hapless footballer clearly couldn't resist boasting about his performance on social media despite claiming to have been unable to play. The court's decision to find him fundamentally dishonest is a red card to any would-be fraudster that they will be caught."
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