IE spotted an interesting case judgement on the Zurich site recently, here’s an extract;
A young woman who suffered severe injuries after a horse fell on her during the course of her employment lost her negligence claim against her employer heard in the Court of Sessions (Outer House).
Background to the claim
The Purser, P, was 17 years old at the time of the accident. She was employed by the Defender, D, as a stable hand. On the day of the accident, D instructed P to exercise a large horse that had been on box rest following an injury and had been prescribed a period of graduated return to physical activity. The horse was well trained and had previously competed at a high level. He had been walked in hand for six weeks and had been ridden again for the first time by his owner that morning.
On returning from the ride, the owner reported to P and D that the horse was ‘fresh’ and had jogged and reared. That afternoon, D instructed P to take the horse out. It reared again and P, in attempting to dismount, slid into a ditch. The horse subsequently fell on top of her.
P suffered serious maxillofacial injuries, a head injury, and a spinal fracture at S1. She started a bursary-funded nursing course; however, due to her injuries, she had to withdraw. P subsequently had to switch to a different course and take out a student loan.
The parties agreed on solatium at £50,000 with three quarters allocated to the past and interest thereon, £400 for lost wages for employment with D, £61,290 past wage loss from discontinuing the nursing degree, with interest of £7,355, and future wage loss of £1,877. Quantification for services rendered by P’s mother who had helped with her care immediately after the accident and loss of employability was not agreed upon. P sought a further £19,000 in respect of student loans for the alternate degree course.
You can read the full summary and judgement here.
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