03/27/2014 // West Palm Beach , Florida, US // JusticeNewsFlash // Justice News Flash // (press release)
Connecticut – Connecticut’s highest court ruled that domestic animal owners have to try and prevent foreseeable injuries caused to others by their animals. As reported by the Associated Press (AP), the Connecticut Supreme Court voted 6-0 to uphold a decision by an appellate court stating horses were members of “a species naturally inclined to do mischief or be vicious,” and determined that horse owners and others who keep domestic animals could be liable for negligence for injuries they cause if reasonable steps are not taken to protect others.
The court is quoted as stating in it’s ruling that an owner or keeper of a domestic animal, “has a duty to take reasonable steps to prevent the animal from causing injuries that are foreseeable because the animal belongs to a class of animals that is naturally inclined to cause such injuries.” The case stems from a 2006 incident in which a boy was injured after attempting to pet a horse at a farm.
The justices stated in the case that a person claiming injury does not have to prove there is a natural tendency for a species to harm others, “but only that the class of animals to which the specific animal belongs has such a tendency.”
Attorney Joseph D. Foti, who represents the father of the injured boy, is quoted by the AP as stating of the case, “This is nothing about a vicious horse… It’s about a horse being a horse, the natural propensity of an animal being dangerous under certain circumstances.”
This report is provided by Justice News Flash – Connecticut Legal News
Media Information:
Address: 215 South Olive Suite 300 W. Palm Beach FL 33401
Phone: 866-598-1315
Url: http://justicenews.visionsmartnews.com/connecticut-high-court-rules-horse-owners-responsible-for-preventing-injuries_11723.html
