In the UK, personal injury claims involving animal attacks are not extraordinary. Dogs in particular have been known to cause truly horrific injuries to humans. The owners – or those in control – of potentially dangerous animals must at all times ensure that the public is protected from being bitten, scratched, trampled or in any other way injured by the creatures. Farmers, for example, ought to ensure that an angry bull cannot escape into the nearby China shop, whilst dogs must be kept under control at all times in a public place. Although farmyard animals, especially cows, do cause a number of deaths and serious injuries each year, dogs are easily the most recognisably dangerous type of pet. As one woman discovered in Wisconsin, USA, even the most seemingly peaceful of creatures can cause extensive damage and personal injury.
According to the Madison Record, Melva Lee Yates filed a compensation claim at St. Clair County Court last month, after being involved in a road collision with a horse. The plaintiff alleges that she was driving her 1995 Pontiac Grand Am in 2008 when, for some reason or another, the defendants' horse charged into her vehicle. Of course, personal injury claims cannot be filed directly against animals, so Ms Yates was left with little option but to claim against the horse's owners, Gerald and Connie Cummings. In her lawsuit, Ms Yates claims that she suffered injuries to various parts of her body, including her back, right knee and right hip. Additionally, Ms Yates has claimed for pain, mental anguish and loss of earnings, as she allegedly missed several days of work following the incident. In total, Ms Yates has petitioned for $200,000 in damages.
Although there is no suggestion that the horse 'attack' was anything other than an accident, Ms Yates ought to receive compensation for her injuries if the usual elements of negligence law can be satisfied. In the UK, Ms Yates would have to prove that the owner, rider or whoever was in control of the horse at the time of the accident, owed her a duty of care, that the duty was breached by the defendant's negligence and that the breach resulted in the harm. Contributory negligence may also be a factor, if it can be proved by the defendant's personal injury lawyers and insurer, that Ms Yates was in some way partly responsible for the accident, for example, if she sounded her horn or drove recklessly to frighten the animal.
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