'Car accident' fraudster to pay back £13k after being spotted on Ninja Warrior
A fraudster who claimed he could not work after he was injured in a car accident has been ordered to pay £13,000 after videos emerged of him doing martial arts at Ninja Warrior.
Robert Wood, 42, was unloading items from the back of a van when he was struck on the arm by a Peugeot taxi. He claimed 'the minor car collision' meant his neck was injured for three weeks and his right wrist for three years which caused him 'financial loss and damage' and he sued Aviva Insurance for £10,000.
However videos on social media - filmed whilst Mr Wood was 'injured and unable to work' - showed him performing high kicks and swinging from bars. When quizzed, he told Aviva 'It’s not me, it’s my twin', but investigators found his brother had 'distinctive blonde highlights' which did not match the brown hair of the man in the video.
He claimed his brother - Andrew - would give evidence at court but at the last minute Mr Wood retracted his claim, admitted he was 'fundamentally dishonest' and the hearing at Southampton County Court, was vacated. A judge then ordered him to pay Aviva - which had insured the taxi driver's vehicle - £13,000 towards its court costs.
Robert Wood (Clyde & Co/Solent News)
He has been ordered to pay back the money (Clyde & Co/Solent News)The initial accident happened in March 2018 at Town Quay in Southampton, Hampshire. Wood claimed he was owed £9,925 because of loss of earnings, 'unquantified care and assistance'. Elinor Willis, Legal Director at Clyde & Co, the law firm representing Aviva, said the accident was genuine however suspicions arose Mr Wood had exaggerated his injuries.
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According to Aviva, their 'severity' did not match what was expected following a minor incident. The law firm's investigators looked into the case and they discovered the social media footage taken during the period when Mr Wood claimed he was injured. This showed him performing martial arts kicks, punches and swinging by his arms from a climbing frame.
Mr Wood, of Chandler's Ford, near Southampton, denied the videos were of him and insisted they showed his twin brother, Andrew. A spokesperson for Aviva said: "Mr Wood said he would provide corroborating evidence from his brother, but no evidence was received. Prior to the final hearing of the case Mr Wood dropped his claim, but Aviva did not wish for him to walk away and ultimately he agreed to an order that he was fundamentally dishonest and he would pay Aviva £13,000 in costs."
In total, the court costs amounted to £43,000. Ms Willis, a specialist fraud lawyer, said: "Mr Wood’s attempt to defraud Aviva wasted the court’s valuable time and left him £13,000 worse off. It’s a hard way to learn the lesson that this type of insurance fraud will not be tolerated. Claimants like Mr Wood may think they’re onto a winner, but we put suspicious claims like these under a microscope.”
Pete Ward, Head of Fraud, Aviva, said: “We are passionate about defending spurious injury claims, in order to protect our customers from inflated costs. This case is a terrific example of Aviva’s robust approach to detecting fraud – specifically, the result of great detective work by our dedicated Casualty and Bodily Injury team, supported by our legal panel, delivering a great outcome for our customers.”
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