Animals Act 1971: Prosecuting and defending equine claims

John Snell provides invaluable advice on this difficult area of law ‘Where the Animals Act 1971 applies, there will often be little or nothing to be gained for a claimant by also pleading a claim at common law.’ A horse, as Lord Justice Lewison observed in Turnbull v Warrener [2012] at para 56, is a …
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Equine Accidents: Tally ho

Julie Mackenzie looks at evidential issues in the niche area of equine related injury claims ‘It may be that the court has to consider carefully the use of experts in horse cases and that some more scientific analysis of a horse’s behaviour may be necessary.’Horse riding and ownership is a growth area; 3.5 million people …
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Case Report: Goldsmith v Patchcott [2012] EWCA Civ 183

Animals Act 1971; ss2 and 5(2) ‘The judge held that the appellant had known that there was a risk that a horse would rear and buck if startled or alarmed and had voluntarily accepted that risk by riding Red.’ The Court of Appeal decision in Goldsmith v Patchcott provides further guidance on the application of …
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The Animals Act 1971: Horse play

Roger Harris discusses the implications of the latest authority ‘The basic concept underpinning the Animals Act 1971 is that a keeper of an animal should be liable for damage caused by his animal if he knew that the animal might be dangerous in the circumstances.’ It is now almost ten years since the Animals Act …
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