29 replies to this topic

[lil dan]

Situation.
Early Thursday morning, around 3 o'clock, my mum received a knock on her door from a police woman. One of my mums horses had got out from the field and walked on to a well used road and was hit by a micra. The driver had already left the scene with minor head injaries, however the horse was some what more damaged. The horse ended up dieing in my sisters arms from shock and trorma in the road. I have been told the Micra had bad off side front and roof damage, and i think will be written off.

Question.
Has a situation like this happend to anyone before? either side of the story. My mum is worried that the driver is going to make a claim for damages etc. and i would like some info on a situation like this to help her out. The horse was kept in suitable field with maintained fences and plenty of space. ALL INFROMATION WOULD BE GREATLY RECEIVED.

Thank you

[guywithvan]

my mate was involved in a accident whilst driving home from work one night,he was driving along country road (at night)doing 50mph in his escort van when two cows,yes two COWS!! ran out into the road he hit one which wrote his van off and a few other cars were involved too.the downside to it all his insurance does'nt cover him for hitting a cow and he'll have to claim directly off the farmer.to top it all his van was then stolen(prob by local scrappy)with the remains of cow still attached!.this was near hythe i think and when he finaly gets it sorted i'll let you know.

[dogrough]

The cow episode , I think it is an offence to allow cattle to stray, ie on the highway, therefore farmer responsible, but not sure if horse is covered by same thing.most solicitors will give 30 mins advive free gratis, may be worth a call. Good luck.

[Mr Duck]

With my missus being in insurance (admittedly property claims but can give a little advice!), the driver will have to claim on any sort of 'horse insurance' that your mum might have. If there isn't anything like this then it'd probably be best to get in contact with some legal advisers to see where you stand regarding personal injury, motor claims, etc.

In any circumstance, professional advice would be the best course of action! Hope that's helped mate.

[tomsbluemini]

Might also be worth throwing in to the driver of the micra that if he/she claims, they they will probably get done for leaving the scene of an accident... if the police weren't already on scene...

Tom

[Shifty]

I might not be popular for saying this but....

If i was the driver of the Micra i would be making a claim, sorry.

The accident doesn't sound like it was in anyway their fault, and if it were me I would be using my legal cover on my car policy to claim.

It wasn't their fault that the horse got out and I wouldn't expect that they would want to be out of pocket because of it.

I'm sorry if this sounds a bit arsey, its not intended to be, its just what i would do in this situation


Seamus

[Mayfair85]

I find it hard to believe that the driver of the car can be completely without blame. I've hit rabbits before and that was simply because, and I will admit it, I was driving too fast. I don't think a horse could sneak out into the road if you're driving sensibly and attentively. Horses and sheep pop out of hedges all around here because I live on the moors and whenever they have been hit its been by speeding drivers.

However I don't know the situation, I don't know the road in question.

My mother was involved in a similiar situation about 30 years ago and the driver took her (horse insurance) to court for personal injury and vehicle damage. She had to prove that the gate he jumped was the correct height for keeping a horse of his size. She won in the end because they weren't negligent in keeping the horse secure and the driver should of been able to stop if he was driving safely.

Hope this is some help.

[Ethel]

Have a look on the Countryside alliance website / forum. The well heeled !8$$ers do actually have some uses.

I don't think you can be held liable for them hitting the horse, but you could be for not ensuring it can't get out of its paddock & in to the road. I don't know if it's a legal requirement to report an accident involving a horse but as it is for a dog you would think so. The fact the horse was in the road doesn't mean it was responsible for the accident: you do have to wonder why the driver left the scene >

Edited by Ethel, 06 April 2008 - 06:47 PM.

[v8mini]

personally i think if you have horses you should have some kind of public liability insurance to cover this sort of thing.
it probably isnt required by law, and i have thought in the past when nearly getting my car kick by a horse with a young girl riding if they would be covered if they had caused some damage.

as shifty says, i'd want to claim if it happened to me

[Bungle]

not quite the same but one of my mums dogs ran into a moving car and dented the wing (no damage to the dog)

my mum had to clam on her pet insurance for the damage

[Black.Ghost]

I would agree that I would want to claim as well. However, at the same time, if the adequate measures have been taken to ensure the horse 'can't' get out then its not really the owners faul.

Fleeing the scene of an accident is a criminal offence and I would say if the horse was that bad injured then they most definitely should have stopped. I personally would have done simply so that any thing the police noted would back up your case if claiming for expenses.

[Matt_20]

well, firstly, i think people are assuming the car driver 'fled' the scene. If the police knew enough info to tell you that the car was a nissan micra and the driver had injuries and had left, then i doubt they had fled the scene, more that likely they went home or to the hospital.

Any accident involving a horse must be reported to police as it seems to have been so no issues there either.

What we have here is a case of an unfortunate turn of events. The unfortunate thing being that one of the parties involved is to blame. This will more than likely go down to a civil claim so contact your horse insurer and or a local solicitor.

[Ethel]

Yeah, I misread that, they could have left the scene after reporting the accident to get medical treatment.

If the police are involved then a prosecution is quite likely if it can be proved someone broke the law.

[Black.Ghost]

well, firstly, i think people are assuming the car driver 'fled' the scene. If the police knew enough info to tell you that the car was a nissan micra and the driver had injuries and had left, then i doubt they had fled the scene, more that likely they went home or to the hospital.

For some reason I didnt take that bit in.

Yes it now makes sense that the police were called.

"Had an accident that wasn't your fault?

Injury lawyers for you." I hate these companies.

[lil dan]

firstly thank you for all your replys.

let me just clear this up. as you know a horse is quite a large animal and for one to die in the road means the road has to be closed. wash all the blood away and pick the thing up. there was, so i'm told, plenty of police presents and the drive went after the ambilance had been and gone etc. so no fleeing of the scene.

i too would want to claim, its only fair. no one sounds arsey saying. plus i dont like horses anyway lol.

the field is well maintained and all fences and gate are well within standard. plus the other two horses have never got out.

the road it happend on is the A2 in sittingbourne and is on a stretch that is known for high speeds, not saying the driver was speeding but its highly possible.

i will ask my mum about horse insurance.

if anyone knows of people with horses that might have some good advise, it would be great to hear it.