Here’s one of me feeling ill on holiday!
Judge throws out insurance claim after seeing snaps of girl drinking
A HOLIDAYMAKER who was pictured in a bikini drinking spirits, only to claim she had food poisoning at the time, was branded ‘fundamentally dishonest’ by a judge yesterday.
Marissa McLean, 27, brought a claim for damages after alleging she contracted gastroenteritis from ‘pink’ chicken at an Egyptian hotel buffet.
But the claim was thrown out after a court was shown pictures of her sunbathing, drinking rum, and at the wheel of a yacht.
She argued she had been suffering sickness, diarrhoea and stomach cramps.
The private healthcare assistant flew to the four star hotel at the Sharm el-Sheikh resort for an £800 all-inclusive break with a friend in September 2015.
She described requiring an injection from the hotel medic on the fourth day of her six-night stay.
She claimed the illness was contracted from a fly-ridden hotel buffet restaurant where she said utensils were shared between dishes and ‘tepidly-served food’ was uncovered.
But Ian Denham, representing tour operator Thomas Cook, said any illness was more likely to have come from a chicken and shish kebab meal on a desert quadbike excursion the night before she fell ill. He also suggested an email sent by the hotel doctor to the claimant, which was submitted in evidence, had been forged.
McLean said that despite ‘ severe’ illness she had posted pictures of her apparently enjoying the holiday on Facebook to make an ex-boyfriend jealous. One picture of herself was captioned ‘ currently drinking rum and Coke, pacing myself’. One image of her in a white bikini by the pool of the Sol Y Mar Sharks Bay hotel was cap- tioned: ‘Little selfie before the pool party tonight.’
Another, showing her at the wheel of a yacht, was captioned: ‘Captain Marissa, in charge of the boat’.
But District Judge Nadeem Khan said he found McLean’s explanation ‘ neither plausible or credible’.
He added: ‘ I’m satisfied that it’s more likely than not that the Facebook entries present a true description of the claimant’s holiday. I’m satisfied that she wasn’t suffering from gastroenteritis.’ The judge said the medical report purportedly from the hotel doctor was ‘concerning’ and ‘itself demands careful scrutiny’. Worcester county court heard McLean had only lodged legal papers after being approached by a law firm in June last year – nine months after the holiday. She denied creating the emailed medical report.
Judge Khan ruled that McLean, from Redditch, Worcestershire, was liable to pay the tour operator’s legal costs of £2,812.
In June travel association ABTA warned that a culture of compensation and false sickness claims from British holidaymakers could force up the cost of trips and even stop Britons being able to book all-inclusive holidays.
A Thomas Cook spokesman said: ‘We’ve been clear we won’t hesitate to take action where we feel it’s justified, in order to protect the majority of honest holidaymakers.’
‘Neither plausible nor credible’