Insights / News
Insights / News
Jonathan Hand KC and Harriet Jerram joined forces this summer to share their thoughts on the most recent equine cases and incidents involving horse safety and the Animals Act 1971 in this Equine Law Update podcast. They discuss some practical issues that have arisen in recent cases including the value of site visits, photos, videos and drone footage, as well as the use of experts and how to do so.
Jonathan analyses the question ‘how do you go about proving knowledge?’ of the behaviour of a horse, and Harriet provides some insight into the use of social media footage in claims. Can video footage or messages back up the argument of a voluntary assumption of risk?
Jonathan and Harriet also review some recently published footage of dangerous driving around horses, courtesy of The British Horse Society, released in light of the most recent changes to the Highway Code, the first regarding horses in around 30 years. The footage was released to raise awareness of the continued dangerous driving around ridden horses despite the introduction of an increase in car-to-horse distance on the road and a lower speed limit.
Finally, they discuss the ‘military horse bolting’ incident in London in April 2024 (footage courtesy of Getty Images) and the how this terrible incident should at least help raise awareness of the nature of horses and risks of ‘spooking’ them with reckless driving and car horns.
Cases discussed in the podcast:
Jonathan Hand KC is a very highly regarded personal injury silk, with much of his personal injury work involving catastrophic spinal and head injuries as well as fatal accident claims. He has a particular interest in equine and other animal related litigation including claims under the Animals Act 1971. He is the author of the Liability for Animals section in the Westlaw Insight service and a legally qualified chair for British Equestrian Federation panels.
He is frequently asked to speak and write on topics in this field. Published articles include two articles on the Animals Act which he co-authored with Ben Compton KC for the Journal of Personal Injury Law: The Animals Act 1971 – Where Are We Now? (JPIL 2009, 1-11), and The Statutory Defences to Strict Liability (JPIL 2012, 18-24).
Harriet Jerram has specialised in clinical negligence and personal injury for over 20 years. She now has a niche personal injury practice, specialising in Animals Act claims with particular experience of representing Defendants in equine cases, successfully defending dozens of cases at trial. Harriet successfully represented the First Defendant in Schoultz v Ball and others [2022] EWHC 2452 (KB), and was invited to publish a case analysis on this important judgment in Lexis Nexis. She has been repeatedly instructed by some of the leading equine solicitors in the UK for many years.
Webinars & Recordings 24 Jun, 2024
Call: 1990 Silk: 2019
Call: 1998
