Our client, Mrs D*, approached Farleys’ personal injury team following an accident at a riding centre during which she was injured.
Mrs D had been attending a colt inspection in which she was showing her own horse for grading. As part of the inspection she was required to show the horse moving to the best of its ability. This part of the inspection was to be carried out on hard ground. It was a dry day and the inspector chose a particular spot for that part of the inspection to take place on.
As Mrs D was leading her horse over that particular area, she slipped on some moss that was covering the concrete and fell. Her horse also lost its footing and fell. Both suffered injury to varying degrees but Mrs D continued with the inspection as these types of inspections are not a regular occurrence.
As she attempted to continue, Mrs D felt her ankle swelling in her boot and struggled to continue through the next part of the inspection. As soon as it was over, she went to her local A&E where she was diagnosed with a fractured ankle and lacerations to her forearm. The laceration to her forearm scarred and she experienced some bruising for a short time. However, following the fracture to her ankle, she continued to experience intermittent, ongoing pain which obstructed her daily life.
Mrs D’s horse also received a lower grading than she was hoping for because of the difficulties experienced after the accident. As she knew her horse was capable of a higher grading, she re-entered it for grading at another inspection some miles away. As she was still in recovery from the accident, she paid for someone else to show the horse.
After being instructed by Mrs D to submit a claim against both the organisers of the inspections and the owners of the centre on her behalf, Farleys’ personal injury team gathered a number of statements from witnesses to the accident. We also instructed medical experts to report on the injuries Mrs D sustained.
It was argued that the area was unsafe to perform on and was not properly inspected beforehand.
Farleys successfully recovered in excess of £7,000 damages for Mrs D, to cover cost of medical care and the cost involved in the rebooking of her colt inspection.
Jane Chadwick, Partner and Personal Injury Solicitor at Farleys commented,
We were pleased to have been able to claim the compensation our client deserved in this case and delighted that her horse eventually received the highest grading possible – a great result all round!
Farleys Solicitors has an experienced team of personal injury specialists including some with particular expertise in equine law. If you would like to speak with one of our experts in confidence about the possibility of making a claim for personal injury compensation, please call 0333 331 4363 or contact us by email.
*Some of our case studies have been anonymised to protect the privacy of our clients.