jrh2002
04-04-2010, 12:06 AM
Hero's walk of courage costs him £25k compo
Shameful! Insurance giant robs hero Para of payout.
http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00103/soldierwalk_103004a.jpg
SO MOVING: Dave hobbles on to Wembley pitch without walking stick
By Paul McNamara, 04/04/2010
A HEARTLESS insurance firm has axed a £25,000 payout to crippled war hero Private Dave Tartlock - because he bravely managed to hobble out at Wembley with the Carling Cup.
Millions of TV viewers were touched as they saw the Final's guest of honour courageously cast his walking stick aside and limp on to the pitch carrying the trophy.
But also watching was a stony-faced clerk from Forces' insurers Abacus.
And the hard-hearted penpusher went straight into work next day and STOPPED the Afghanistan casualty's £25,000 claim for compensation for his appalling wounds.
http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00103/soldiergun_103006a.jpg
BRAVE: Dave in action in Afghanistan
Last night Dave, 20, from 2 Para, said: "I can't get my head around what they've done. They didn't even have the courtesy to ring me directly about it. I found out from my mum."
Doctors told Dave he could be left paralysed after being hit in the spine by shrapnel when an Apache helicopter mistakenly opened fire on British troops two years ago. But the tough soldier astonished them all by battling back to walk with the aid of a stick. He qualified for compensation so he put in a claim with Abacus for loss of the use of a foot.
"My left one will never have any feeling and needs a splint," said Dave. "My calves don't work but I can hobble with a stick."
The lifelong Man United fan was thrilled when he was chosen to carry the trophy out on to the pitch before his team's final against Aston Villa in February in recognition of his remarkable achievement. Dave, from Gorton, Manchester, said:
"I trained for weeks carrying vases around my house. I managed to carry the trophy that day and didn't fall. I was so proud."
http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00103/soldiercrutch_103007a.jpg
STUNNED: Pte Dave
Then came the Abacus bombshell that they were rejecting his claim. Instead of ringing him direct they called the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre at Headley Court in Surrey where he was being treated to say he wouldn't be paid because he had been seen walking. The centre then told his mum.
"It's absolutely sickening - I pay £56 a month for this insurance cover," added Dave. "I've been pushing myself to get better and then they do something like this. It's a lot of money for me, but that's not the point. They don't know what I've been through."
Last night a spokesman for soldiers' charity the ABF said: "Someone who has been injured in the line of duty deserves maximum respect rather than the tick-box attitude of a jobsworth."
A spokesman for Abacus - who boast of "friendly, knowledgeable staff" on their website - said: "We are looking into David's case. We have no desire to wriggle out of paying a claim if it is due."
http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/news/772154/Heros-walk-of-courage-costs-him-25k-compo.html
What a disgusting decision :( They should send the insurance guy out to the front line to assess a few claims. :@
Shameful! Insurance giant robs hero Para of payout.
http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00103/soldierwalk_103004a.jpg
SO MOVING: Dave hobbles on to Wembley pitch without walking stick
By Paul McNamara, 04/04/2010
A HEARTLESS insurance firm has axed a £25,000 payout to crippled war hero Private Dave Tartlock - because he bravely managed to hobble out at Wembley with the Carling Cup.
Millions of TV viewers were touched as they saw the Final's guest of honour courageously cast his walking stick aside and limp on to the pitch carrying the trophy.
But also watching was a stony-faced clerk from Forces' insurers Abacus.
And the hard-hearted penpusher went straight into work next day and STOPPED the Afghanistan casualty's £25,000 claim for compensation for his appalling wounds.
http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00103/soldiergun_103006a.jpg
BRAVE: Dave in action in Afghanistan
Last night Dave, 20, from 2 Para, said: "I can't get my head around what they've done. They didn't even have the courtesy to ring me directly about it. I found out from my mum."
Doctors told Dave he could be left paralysed after being hit in the spine by shrapnel when an Apache helicopter mistakenly opened fire on British troops two years ago. But the tough soldier astonished them all by battling back to walk with the aid of a stick. He qualified for compensation so he put in a claim with Abacus for loss of the use of a foot.
"My left one will never have any feeling and needs a splint," said Dave. "My calves don't work but I can hobble with a stick."
The lifelong Man United fan was thrilled when he was chosen to carry the trophy out on to the pitch before his team's final against Aston Villa in February in recognition of his remarkable achievement. Dave, from Gorton, Manchester, said:
"I trained for weeks carrying vases around my house. I managed to carry the trophy that day and didn't fall. I was so proud."
http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00103/soldiercrutch_103007a.jpg
STUNNED: Pte Dave
Then came the Abacus bombshell that they were rejecting his claim. Instead of ringing him direct they called the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre at Headley Court in Surrey where he was being treated to say he wouldn't be paid because he had been seen walking. The centre then told his mum.
"It's absolutely sickening - I pay £56 a month for this insurance cover," added Dave. "I've been pushing myself to get better and then they do something like this. It's a lot of money for me, but that's not the point. They don't know what I've been through."
Last night a spokesman for soldiers' charity the ABF said: "Someone who has been injured in the line of duty deserves maximum respect rather than the tick-box attitude of a jobsworth."
A spokesman for Abacus - who boast of "friendly, knowledgeable staff" on their website - said: "We are looking into David's case. We have no desire to wriggle out of paying a claim if it is due."
http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/news/772154/Heros-walk-of-courage-costs-him-25k-compo.html
What a disgusting decision :( They should send the insurance guy out to the front line to assess a few claims. :@