We can help you claim
compensation following an accident
illness or injury - nationwide
Call: 0800 10 757 95
If you wish to make a horse riding accident claim, then our expert solicitors may be able to help you receive 100% compensation for your personal injury.
At every level of horse riding there is an element of danger. Although horses tend to be gentle creatures, they are large and powerful animals which can cause a rider or spectators great harm if they become frightened.
Likewise if the rider or handler is inexperienced then they may not know how to control the horse or how to react if it becomes panicked by something. Even experienced riders can suffer personal injury through a simple accident, as Superman actor Christopher Reeve did after his horse failed at a show-jump and he was flung forwards, caught up in the reigns.
For these reasons it is vital that horse-riding schools and teachers make sure that a student is at the correct level to learn certain techniques or tricks. It is also important that the owners of a training area maintain the building and grounds, and have in place safety precautions if it is in their contract with the riding school to do so.
If a pupil was to fall from their horse and be injured due to an incorrectly sized helmet which the school had provided then they could pursue legal action against the school or the track owner for their pain and suffering.
In the professional horse riding world, health and safety is just as important. Riders may be much more experienced – having dedicated themselves through training to racing or show-jumping for years – but the speeds they may be riding at and the obstacles their horses are required to negotiate add a high risk of injury to the sport.
It may seem that in the professional horse riding world responsibility for safety falls on the rider or jockey, but an accident in February 2011 showed how important it can be for the owners of a track or training arena to maintain the area with great care.
Two race horses were apparently electrocuted as they were brought out into the parade ring at Newbury racecourse due to an old underground cable of 220 volts, which had lain under the grass un-maintained for years. Handlers said that just prior to the electrocution they could feel something was wrong, one reportedly saying, "I'm getting an electric shock off this horse."
Had the unfortunate event occurred differently, the news could have reported the electrocution of the jockeys as well.
The incident cost the racecourse owners a substantial amount of money in compensation to the horse owners for the value of their animals and loss of future earnings. Spectators were also compensated as the day's racing was abandoned. However, it could have cost a great deal more had the jockeys also been eligible to make personal injury claims.
Claiming after a horse riding accident
If you have suffered a personal injury claim through poor training or insufficient safety gear at a riding school, a handler's poor control of their animal, or the inadequate maintenance of a track, then you could make a successful compensation claim with our help.
Simply phone us direct on 0800 10 757 95, fill in our short online claim form, or request a call back from one of our advisers.
