Ian Bevan, a Director and senior litigator at Aegis Legal recently acted for Sarah Yeates, a riding instructor, following an accident in October 2018 at the riding centre where she worked in Cheshire.
Sarah was riding a horse out of the riding centre when they were confronted by a Royal Mail van, delivering mail. Her horse was spooked, stumbled and fell, trapping Sarah beneath, causing her to suffer significant crushing injuries to her right leg, foot and ankle including a very severe fracture dislocation of the mid-foot and disruption of the Lisfranc joint.
Royal Mail strenuously disputed fault for Sarah’s accident, and an equine expert was instructed by Ian Bevan to assist the Court with its findings. At the Trial of the case, at Liverpool County Court, the Judge found Royal Mail’s driver to have caused the horse to spook due to the nature of his driving.
Following several episodes of surgery, Sarah was left with a degree of permanent symptoms and dysfunction in her right foot, a risk of arthritis and the need for ankle fusion surgery in the future. Sarah has had to adapt her love of horses to a more sedentary equestrian teaching role due to problems with her foot and ankle after she was advised to avoid employment which required mobilisation over rough or heavy ground, kneeling, crouching or repetitive or prolonged heavy manual activity.
A settlement was achieved that took into account that Sarah’s ability to ride and work in an unrestricted capacity has been significantly adversely affected by the accident, and the need for future treatment.
Sarah added “I cannot thank Ian Bevan enough for his time and effort concerning my claim and achieving a successful conclusion when Royal Mail fought the claim to the bitter end. I think other Solicitors would probably have given up. I would whole heartedly recommend Ian Bevan and Aegis Legal to others who have sustained life changing injuries and are looking for justice.”