Accident.

[Irishlady]

I'm having an awful time at my current yard. There are a lot of children staff members and today, one decided to come and wave her fork at us in the outdoor school. My friends horse spooked and cried out for her to stop, but she didn't. My horse spooked and now I am lying in a hospital bed with a dislocated hip, bleeding in my kidney and sprained neck. Im having surgery in the morning. I haven't received an apology from the staff member and my yard manager has accused me of being dramatic. I'm devastated. I feel totally let down and furious that this was allowed to happen. I'm in agony and so upset. I'm looking to move my horse immediately but does Nyone have any advice with how to deal with this situation?

 

[JanetGeorge]

Keep calm and concentrate on getting better!! Do you have a friend to keep an eye on your horse? Is it full/part or DIY livery? I WOULD put in an accident report to the BHS (is it an 'Approved' yard?) And think about whether you really want the costs (and hassle) of a legal act against the yard for negligence (if so, you need to get some preliminary advice from a solicitor abot what to do next.)

 

[WandaMare]

I'm really sorry to hear about your accident and I hope you recover well and feel better soon.

 

[Shay]

The yard owner will have employer liability insurance as the law requires this. Depending on the circumstances you may have a claim for injury. These things are always a little more complex because horses are unpredictable creatures and we accept a level of liability for our own injuries in just riding at all so everything is fact specific. You might want to write down as detailed and dispassionate an account as you can and just keep it somewhere. Ask your friend - and any other witnesses - to do the same. You have 2 years for the date of injury to pursue a claim so you don;t need to do anything in a hurry.

The the yard was BHS registered you can log the incident with them - but I'm afraid not many livery yards are. If the yard is also a riding school they must report the accident to the council I think. There should be an accident report book somewhere.

Otherwise - concentrate on getting better. There are potentially some long term consequences from injuries like this and you need to udnerstand what you need to for yourself. Good luck in surgery this morning.