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Original poster

car accident with horse

56 replies

lauryloo · 21/01/2019 07:28

in june our car was written off by a horse that had got loose running onto the road and into our car.

Hubby was driving and myself and 2 year old SN DD were in the car. Police attended and said we were lucky to be alive - which we really are!

I had literally just settled a car accident claim that afternoon where someone had driven into me. I spoke to my solicitor after this accident and she agreed to fight our case.

The problem we are having is that all 3 of us were injured (7 months later i am still having physio on my shoulder) and the owner of the horse is claiming he has no insurance, and won't answer letters our solicitor sends him and his own solicitor has told our solicitor to stop calling! He has admitted that the horse wasn't on his land but won't actually tell us where the horse was kept!

Obviously we want to claim for injuries and the cost of our car (it was only 2 months old) as we don't want our insurance to take a hit.

has anyone experienced anything like this?

OP posts:
LondonBelongsToMe · 21/01/2019 07:32

Ignore the fact it’s a horse, think as if it’s an uninsured driver. Does the owner have sufficient resources to make it worth going after them personally? Googling their address and searching the property register is a start (will tell you value / if they own / whether there’s a mortgage). Not sure where hose lives is relevant?? Presumably you’ve also checked whether it’s a legal requirement for horses on the public highway to have third party insurance and therefore whether the owner is committing an offence?

LondonBelongsToMe · 21/01/2019 07:34

Also when you say that owners solicitor has asked yours to stop writing, have they actually said they’re not instructed so don’t write? If that’s the case your (wet lettuce sounding) solicitor can write to owner directly. What’s your solicitor advising?

greenelephantscarf · 21/01/2019 07:35

go through your insurance.
they will deal with the horse owner.
you might no see a lot of money from them (naked person has no pockets) but if you are lucky they are a homeowner and can take a charge on the house.

Rainbowshine · 21/01/2019 07:35

I would think your own car insurance company should pursue this. What do they say?

LEMtheoriginal · 21/01/2019 07:41

I hope the horse is ok

Original poster
lauryloo · 21/01/2019 07:43

thanks all - i did tell my solicitor that we want to go through our insurance for injuries and the car, but she said that we couldn't (for the injuries at least) as hubby who was driving wasn't at fault.

The owner of the horse has nothing - he lives with his elderly father. Solicitor has said we can claim on his house insurance but again he won't give us any details. If he doesn't have any house insurance the farmer whose land the horse escaped from should have insurance and she wants to claim from them.

I am guessing its a civil matter though, as no charges were brought at the time. Just unsure if there is anything we can do. Its just frustrating that the 3 of us were nearly killed and our car written off and he can just ignore it

OP posts:
Original poster
lauryloo · 21/01/2019 07:45

horse died at scene - and we are lucky to be alive

OP posts:
LEMtheoriginal · 21/01/2019 07:46

Poor horse i would be devastated

LondonBelongsToMe · 21/01/2019 07:47

Your solicitor is wrong about not going through insurance- they absolutely do take non fault claims on your behalf and if you haven’t declared this mess to them you may be in breach of your own insurance. I wouldn’t expect standard household insurance to cover animals on the road. Are they required to have insurance for the horse?

Original poster
lauryloo · 21/01/2019 07:54

no he isn't required to have insurance for the horse - but he should have some kind of public liability insurance for the land the horse is kept on.

We have contacted our insurance and they have paid out for the car already. Its just the injuries we haven't claimed for as yet, and our solicitor is saying we can't claim off our insurance for these.

OP posts:
PoutySprout · 21/01/2019 07:54

Your insurers should cover your car. Will be a fault claim until someone else covers the cost.

Address the injuries differently. Legal cover on your car insurance should cover costs of going after the owner of the horse or land.

PoutySprout · 21/01/2019 07:55

You can’t claim for your injuries from your own insurer, no.

Original poster
lauryloo · 21/01/2019 08:07

thanks for the replies

the whole situation is just so stressful. I just want it resolved. I hate the fact that he can just ignore it and there is nothing we can do.

His solicitor did say to ours that he will not defend owner of the horse (apart from initial letter stating he was not a man of means) as he will not get paid for it.

so not really sure where we go now - solicitor wants to hire a private investigator and find out who owns the land the horse was on and hope that they have public liability insurance to claim off. But its looking very like there is going to be no resolution and we will have to just let it go.

OP posts:
LEMtheoriginal · 21/01/2019 08:17

I would be devastated about the horse

Cosmos45 · 21/01/2019 08:24

Poor horse, how utterly devastating for the owner.. what injuries did you sustain exactly? I would stop trying to pursue this person and let the insurance company deal with it. I think they’ve been through enough trauma by now.

Cosmos45 · 21/01/2019 08:25

And yes, I would just let it go.. it’s a tragic accident with no one to blame really. At the end of the day that’s what your insurance is for, to cover you.

Kennehora · 21/01/2019 08:30

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Waytooearly · 21/01/2019 08:37

If it were a big corporation who'd been grossly negligent, then yeah it might be worth pursuing damages.

But this is a guy with no resources and a horse that spooked at just the wrong time.

Let your insurance sort out car, get your injuries treated for free on NHS.

Seriously, let it go.

Original poster
lauryloo · 21/01/2019 08:44

a number of injuries were sustained but the worst is a shoulder injury that is still causing me a great deal of pain. I have a bulky 3 year old who can't even stand yet, so i do a lot of lifting and this really has made things so much more difficult.

I think i need some kind of therapy honestly to let it go. I just can't fathom that we all almost died and the owner isn't held accountable in any way. Somebody did say it was an accident waiting to happen as he often lets his horses run wild.

OP posts:
reallybadidea · 21/01/2019 08:44

What happened to you was really awful. I can understand why you'd feel that you want some redress for having gone through something traumatic through no fault of your own, but I really think that you need to let it go. You're fortunate enough to live in a country where healthcare is free and you don't seem to have suffered any life-changing injuries. I think pursuing this man is going to be potentially expensive, with no guarantee of any financial compensation at the end of it. Sometimes the best course of action is to try and move on with your life, even if it does feel unfair.

LEMtheoriginal · 21/01/2019 08:47

Kennehora no need for the Hmm sarcasm.

At no point here has the op expressed any sympathy for the horse. I get that she could have been killed and that's pretty traumatic. But her insurance company will cover the damage to the car. I guess its just unfortunate that she wont get compo from the owner of the horse that was killed.

Why had the horse escaped? Was it their fault it had done so? I know sonebidy who's horse had to be destroyed because vandals had broken the fence and the horse severed a tendon. Had her horse caused an accident i think someone's claim for compo would have finished her off.

LEMtheoriginal · 21/01/2019 08:50

I did miss the part about personal injury which is shit. However if the person hasno money they have no money so its a hiding to nithing at best and more stress for the op when trying to recover. Id be traumatized too

Spudlet · 21/01/2019 08:53

Sad to say, for some people letting a horse into a busy road is no big deal. I have known cases where horses were deliberately put into railway lines or shoved into storm culverts as a means of disposing of them as they were unwanted - including some foals. There are some proper bastards out there. This doesn't make it any less sad for the horse but what I'm saying is, don't assume the owner is automatically gutted because they may well not give a shiny shit.

OP, seek legal advice but unfortunately there may not be much you can do. The owner should be held liable under the Animals Act 1971 but it may be difficult to get anything out of this and you may end up prolonging your own agony. Think hard about whether you want to pursue this claim, or try to let it go with whatever support you need to do that. Flowers

ApolloandDaphne · 21/01/2019 08:55

To be fair to the OP i don't think i would have a lot of sympathy for the horse if my family had almost died as it ran wild in the road. I know it is not the fault of the horse, but the owner should be held somewhat accountable surely?

Time after time on MN i read about dog owners having to be accountable for their dog and keep them under control, so why not a horse which is much bigger and stronger and more likely to cause more damage?

OP i am not sure what more you can do if the horse owner has no means by which to cover the cost of your car repairs. I think you just have to take the hit through your insurance.

whiteroseredrose · 21/01/2019 08:57

Sometimes an accident is just that, an accident. Horses can jump fences - watch the Grand National. We can't prepare for every tiny eventuality. Sometimes you just have to accept that shit happens.

PS Money won't magic your shoulder better. The NHS can treat it though.