Victoria Rigby

Equine Animal Law

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Profile
Victoria has combined her personal interest together with her legal expertise in order to build a solid practice in this niche area.

She has considerable experience in advising on the application of the Animals Act 1971.

Briefs include advising and representing:
- Riding schools
- Livery yards
- Racing stables
- Horse owners/dealers/riders/employees
- Dog owners/dog bite victims
- Livestock owners/landowners

Through her work in this field she has gained a thorough understanding of the legal and evidential requirements and is confident that she can guide clients through the murky waters of the Animals Act 1971 and the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.

She has received instructions from leading Defendant equine law firms P Jane MD Phillips and Darbys Solicitors. Expert and factual evidence are key in this area and Victoria understands and appreciates what is needed in order to bring and defend claims successfully. She is robust when necessary but equally can be sensitive to clients' needs.

Victoria is happy to receive instructions from both Claimants and Defendants.

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Victoria has combined her personal experience of riding and working with horses with her professional interest in this niche area. The issues involved in these cases are complex, varied and fascinating; from the adequacy of livestock fencing, to the behavioural characteristics of llamas and alpacas! Victoria is fascinated by this area of law, which is evidenced in her meticulous approach to cases.

She regularly advises and represents Insurers and Claimants in cases brought under the Animals Act 1971. The nature of this work often involves catastrophic, life changing injuries including brain injury, serious fractures, paralysis and amputations. Emotions often run high in cases where animals are involved. Victoria is adept at handling such cases and aims to provide a pragmatic, sensible approach.

Victoria has successfully represented livery yards, race yards, riding schools, horse owners and dealers, landowners, farmers, livestock owners, dog owners and victims of injuries caused by animals.

Victoria has considerable experience in advising on the application of the Animals Act 1971 and the case law it has generated. She is happy to be involved in all stages of a case including drafting pleadings and witness statements, applications, CCMC’s, Advice on quantum and liability, JSM’s and trial advocacy. She routinely represents:

– Race Yards

– Livery yards

– Farmers/livestock owners

– Landowners

– Horse owners/dealers

– Riders/Jockeys/Grooms

– Dog owners/dog bite victims

– Dog rescue centres

Over the last 15 years Victoria has gained a thorough understanding of the legal and evidential requirements in this technical area of law and has worked alongside leading equine and canine experts.

Victoria receives instructions from leading Claimant and Defendant firms and insurers in this field.

Victoria is a member of the British Equestrian Federation Judicial Panel, the hearing body that plays a vital role in dispute resolution, including anti-doping and selection appeals for member bodies and participants within the sport up to Olympic level.

Insurance Fraud

Victoria has a wealth of experience in insurance fraud litigation on behalf of insurers including LVI, induced and staged accidents, phantom passenger claims, fraud rings, exaggerated injury and hire claims. Victoria also has extensive experience of Health and Safety Litigation through her Employers’ and Public Liability work including Highways Litigation. Through her forensic analytical skills, Victoria has had significant success in securing case dismissals and Fundamental Dishonesty findings for Defendants.

In relation to road traffic accidents, she has considerable knowledge of the following:
– Low velocity impact collisions
– Induced and staged accidents
– Phantom Passenger claims
– Fraud rings
– Exaggerated injury and loss claims
– Hire Claims

In addition, Victoria has general experience in fraudulent personal injury claims including tripping and slipping where she has had considerable success at Court. She has a thorough understanding of Social Media and how it may be used evidentially.

Victoria can be relied upon for her frank, straight talking approach, whether advising in conference, drafting pleadings or in Court. She is prepared to take a robust view when appropriate whilst being sensitive to the concerns of her clients in what can be difficult and testing litigation.

Personal Injury

Victoria’s practice covers all aspects of Personal Injury Litigation including insurance fraud/LVI/public and employer’s liability cases at Fast track and Multi Track level..

She has extensive experience of pleading, advising and arguing cases involving Health and Safety Litigation in the context of accidents at work and industrial disease.

Victoria is on the MIB panel of counsel and is regularly instructed in arbitration hearings involving interpretation of the Uninsured and Untraced Drivers’ Agreements or disputes around damage awards.

Victoria has attended several inquests on behalf of interested persons including families and local authorities. She understands the non adversarial approach required in inquests whilst at the same time appreciating the need for sensitive exploration of the issues.

Victoria’s specialist interest area involves injury caused by animals, in particular horses. She has a high success rate in cases involving the Animals Act 1971 and has built a solid practice in this area, representing riding stables, farmers, dog owners and individuals.

She is tenacious and thorough in her approach, robust when necessary, however she also understands the need for sensitivity and tact on occasion. Victoria receives instructions from both Claimants and Defendants

Inquests

Victoria’s Inquest practises wide-ranging, acting on behalf of bereaved families, corporations such as the Jockey Club, insurance companies and public bodies such as Local Authorities and Network Rail.

Drawing on 20 years’ experience as a personal injury specialist for both Claimants and Defendants, Victoria fully grasps the competing interests of families and corporate/ government bodies in an area of law that can be both complex and daunting for the individuals concerned.

Two cases of note concern an individual who was dragged by a racehorse whilst out on the gallops and a train driver who was killed whilst walking on the tracks.

In the former case, Victoria was instructed to attend on behalf of the Jockey Club with a view to advising on future safety issues within the racing industry. In the latter case, she was instructed on behalf of Network Rail, representing them as an Interested Person at the inquest into the death of a train driver working for English Welsh and Scottish Railways.

Victoria is happy to be involved at any stage, from advising on the scope of the Inquest, procedure and preparation of key witnesses, to future health and safety recommendations and the likely success or otherwise future personal injury claims.

Notable Cases

CATSTROPHIC INJURY

• Represented a Claimant on liability and quantum in a case where she was trampled by a herd of cows leaving her with temporary paralysis and an inability to walk without the aid of sticks. The case settled at £500,000.
• Successfully negotiated a settlement at JSM on behalf of the Defendant insurer in a case pleaded above £600,000 involving life changing injury to a jockey’s leg following a riding accident.
• Successfully negotiated a settlement for a Defendant insurer at JSM involving a female Claimant who, following a kick by a horse, sustained a pelvic fracture and incontinence resulting in an inability to work.

INSURANCE FRAUD

• Represented a Defendant Insurer in a 3-day trial involving bogus passenger claims. Secured the dismissal of all passenger claims and the Claimant driver.
• Succeeded on behalf of a Defendant Insurer in securing a discontinuance after day one of trial spent cross examining Claimant claiming large hire claim.
• Succeeded against a Claimant fraudulently claiming loss of earnings and extensive PSLA award. The case involved detailed analysis of the law around the use and disclosure of surveillance evidence.

EQUINE/ANIMALS ACT 1971

Horses

• Advised a Defendant in a case involving barbed wire fencing on private land which became tangled up in horse’s legs causing horse to rear, resulting in significant personal injury to Claimant rider. Case involved consideration of trespass, negligence, and character of horse under Animals Act 1971.
• Successfully defended a race trainer at trial in a case where the employee Claimant was kicked in the chest by a gelding in a Horse Walker. Liability involved the consideration of defences under the Animals Act 1971 and negligence.
• Secured the dismissal of a claim wherein the Claimant was injured after falling from the Defendant’s horse whilst trialling it with a view to purchase. This high value quantum case involved the consideration of expert evidence on equine behaviour and negligence, in particular extensive argument centred on the use of language in advert for a horse.

Dogs

• Secured dismissal of a claim brought by a Claimant who suffered a broken leg after the Defendant’s labrador ran into her at speed. Issues involved the consideration of strict liability under the Animals Act 1971 and whether the Defendant had been negligent in entrusting their dog to a dogwalker.
• Advised a Claimant cleaner, who was bitten in the face by employer’s Border Collie as she went to release it from a fence. The case involved the consideration of Voluntary Assumption of Risk under the Animals Act 1971.
• Acted for the Defendant Rottweiler Rescue Home in a case involving a Claimant who was bitten by one of two Rottweilers in a van when she placed her hand up to window. The case involved consideration of the Animals Act 1971 defences and negligence.

Cows

• Advised a Claimant who was temporarily paralysed and permanently damaged following injuries sustained from a stampede of cows who were protecting calves on a public right of way. The case involved the consideration of negligence and strict liability under the Animals Act 1971, where a farmer had allowed the herd to remain in the field through which there was a public right of way.
• Successfully negotiated a settlement for a Claimant who was kicked in the head when employed as a milk inspector during a sample collection. The liability issues involved consideration of layout of parlour and behaviour of Cows in a herd under the Animals Act 1971.
• Advised a farmer of their liability position on a herd of cows/bull in a field, who charged at walkers on a public right of way in estate land.

Appointments

Judicial Panel for British Equestrian Federation

Articles

• “No One size fits all approach in equine cases” – an analysis of the case of Ford v Seymour Williams [2021] and Shoultz v Ball [2022] and what they mean for the industry.
• Victoria provides seminars on all aspects of the Animals Act 1971, expert evidence, and recently the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 in light of the XL Bully litigation.

Associations

MIB Panel

Personal Injury Bar Association

Education

BA (Hons) French & Spanish, Emmanuel College, Cambridge

Post Graduate Diploma in Law, Nottingham Trent Law School

Awards

Diplock Scholar, Middle Temple

Pegasus Scholar, Middle Temple

Prescribed Information

Miss Victoria Rigby is a practising barrister, who is regulated by the Bar Standards Board. Details of information held by the BSB about Miss Victoria Rigby can be found here.

Miss Victoria Rigby’s clerks will happily provide no obligation quotations for all legal services that she provides. Their contact details can be found here. It is most common for Miss Victoria Rigby to undertake Court work for a fixed fee and brief fee plus refresher days. For advisory work, paperwork and conferences it is most commonly charged at an hourly rate although fixed fees are available. Conditional Fee Agreements and Damages Based Agreements will be considered in cases with favourable prospects of success. Miss Victoria Rigby will typically return paperwork within 14-21 days, however professional commitments, complexity and volume of documentation can affect these approximate timescales.