Hotel fall man faces insurer's €350k bill

A man who claimed he suffered "life-changing" injuries after falling out of a hotel window will be pursued for the €350,000 legal bill racked up by the insurance company that exposed his dishonesty.

Jason Platt sued the hotel for £1.49m, turned up to the High Court in a wheelchair and claimed he was housebound after falling from the third-floor window of the Old Bank House in Kinsale.

Surveillance footage showing him driving, shopping and walking from his house resulted in the High Court rejecting his case.

Last Friday, the Court of Appeal accused Mr Platt of "relentless" dishonesty and of acting to "literally rob" the defendants of a "colossal amount of money". Dismissing his appeal, Judge Mary Irvine praised the Old Bank House and the insurer, Aviva, for the "astute" surveillance which "unearthed his dishonesty".

An Aviva spokesperson said: "The costs of defending this case will be in the region of €350,000. We will seek to recover those costs but our experience is that our efforts are rarely rewarded."

Platt, of Liverpool, visited Kinsale with his girlfriend, Christine McKenna, for a Valentine's weekend in 2009, staying at the Old Bank House.

The court heard he claimed he returned to the hotel after a meal, sat on a window ledge to have a cigarette, but lost his balance and fell.

The hotel claimed Platt threw himself from the window, following a heated argument with his girlfriend. Platt suffered numerous fractures.

When the case came before the High Court in 2015, Platt claimed he was housebound, on crutches. Video evidence showed him negotiating the steps of his house, driving and loading shopping into his car - without crutches. When attending a medical appointment he used crutches and a wheelchair.

The High Court found he had "grossly exaggerated" his injuries, a view upheld by the Court of Appeal.