Teenager's €60k injury claim dismissed after Facebook posts show him 'somersaulting off bridges' weeks after accident
A teenager, who was “influenced into going down the path of taking a fraudulent injury claim,” had publicly divulged on Facebook posts pictures that suggested he had no apparent injuries at all, a judge has been told.
Judge John O’Connor agreed with barrister Frank Martin that the online evidence presented by the defence to a teenager’s €60,000 damages claim arising out of a road traffic accident, bore no resemblance to what had been told to the court.
Mr Martin presented the Circuit Civil Court judge with online evidence of a young Reece Fagan, of Rutland Court, Dublin 1, somersaulting off bridges into water and scrambling on his scrambler motorbike only weeks after a collision in which he claimed he had received neck injuries which caused him to temporarily give up boxing and football.
Judge O’Connor heard that Fagan had taken an action alongside his father, Alan Ryan, also of Rutland Court and also for €60,000 damages, as a result of a minimal impact accident that took place on April 8, 2014.
Fagan, on his 18th birthday today, told the court he had been a backseat passenger in a car that was being driven by his father along North Strand Road in Dublin, when they had been struck from behind by a vehicle driven by Amrish Sumnrath. c/o Cars Online, JFK Industrial Estate, Bluebell Road, Dublin 12.
He told Judge O’Connor that Mr Sumnrath had dropped something on the floor and had bent down to pick it up causing him to collide with his father’s vehicle as they were stopped at a set of traffic lights. He did not know who had told him this.
Mr Martin, who appeared with Tormeys Solicitors for the defence, told Fagan in cross-examination that when he was only 13 years old at the time of the accident he had been influenced by his father and an uncle into taking the claim through his mother Anita Ryan.
He agreed that he had appeared in Facebook posts somersaulting off a bridge and a crane into deep water and scrambling on his motorbike just five weeks after having allegedly been injured in the accident.
Mr Fagan said that he had not gone to hospital following the accident. He had taken medication bought for him by his mother who was not in court.
Mr Martin, counsel for Mr Sumnrath, told the court he had discovered a number of images uploaded to Mr Fagan’s Facebook account that questioned the credibility of his evidence.
Judge O’Connor suggested that Fagan’s legal team discuss the situation with him and his father, Alan Ryan, over lunch. When the court resumed, Judge O’Connor was told the two cases had been withdrawn.
Mr Martin told Judge O’Connor he believed the case had been fraudulent as both Mr Fagan and Mr Ryan had “run away” over lunch.
Judge O’Connor agreed with Mr Martin’s request to have both cases dismissed, with an order for costs in the case of Mr Ryan.
