Anna Wilkinson has an established practice in civil insurance fraud and regularly undertakes work on behalf of defendant insurers in relation to suspicious or fraudulent insurance claims, including cases involving road traffic accidents, slips and trips and accidents at work.
Anna has extensive experience of cases involving staged accidents, low-velocity impact (LVI), bogus passengers and exaggerated personal injury claims. She is also familiar with the legal issues which arise in credit hire claims.
Anna has experience in acting for travel companies in cases involving flight delays and alleged breaches under the Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992 (the “Regulations”) and ABTA code of conduct. Anna is familiar with HACCP and the issues that arise in defending holiday sickness claims following the judgment of the Court of Appeal in Wood v TUI Travel, and is acutely aware of the need for travel companies to consider each claim presented to it with considerable caution in light of the recent surge in fraudulent holiday sickness claims.
As Anna’s practice also includes regulatory work she has experience of prosecutions for various types of fraud in addition to those brought for breaches of fire, environmental, and health and safety regulations. This experience gives Anna an ability to advise insurance clients in respect of their prospects in criminal cases arising from fraudulent claims for compensation.
She regularly deals with interlocutory and preliminary hearings, including those to add insurers as a defendants, set aside judgment, deal with expert evidence issues, case-management conferences and associated costs arguments.
Anna ensures she is aware of recent legal developments in the post-Mitchell climate, including the judgments in Durrant v Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset Constabulary; Adlington & Ors v ELS International Lawyers; and Porbanderwalla v Daybridge. She is therefore equipped to deal with arguments in respect of issues arising from the late service of documents or budgets.
Papers practice
She is happy to provide pre-action advice on the strength of individual cases, in conference and in writing, in addition to providing pleadings on behalf of insurer clients. All paperwork is carried out promptly.
Credit-hire fraud
Anna is regularly instructed in relation to claims involving credit hire, especially on behalf of the defence, in cases of all values from the small claims track to the multi-track. She is au fait with the plethora of arguments and cases that have been determined by the Court of Appeal and House of Lords in respect of credit hire agreements, including those made in respect of the Cancellation of Contracts Made in a Consumer’s Home or Place of Work Etc Regulations 2008, and the cases of W v Veolia, Pattni v First Leicester Buses Limited and Bent v Highways and Utilities.
Anna has cross-examined claimants about their claim for collection and delivery of a vehicle and making subsequent submissions that the credit hire contract is unenforceable in its entirety. She has also dealt with cases in which the vehicle is used for both business and social, domestic and pleasure purposes and is familiar with the case law and arguments which can be advanced in such cases. She regularly uses the arguments relating to basic hire rates.
Public Access
Anna may accept Public Access work, where she can be instructed directly by a member of the public rather than a solicitor.
Contact Anna’s clerks
Senior Clerk – Andy Reeves on 0113 213 5252
Talia Webster on 0113 202 8609
