Council not liable for injuries at fair

THE High Court has dismissed a man’s claim that Dublin City Council should be liable for injuries he suffered when a horse hit him at Smithfield fair three years ago.

Retired engineer, Patrick Loughran, aged 64, claimed the council had a duty of care to him arising out of the accident on February 3, 2008, when a horse and a small carriage, called a sulky, collided with him. The owner was never identified.

He said he was standing on the pavement when two sulkies racing one another came towards him. One mounted the footpath and he was struck by the horse and thrown over a bollard leaving him with injuries to his left shoulder, neck and back.

He claimed the council was negligent by allowing the fair to take place and failed to provide any or adequate supervision over the fair. It was also alleged the council failed to manage and control the driving of horses and sulkies.

It also allegedly failed to take reasonable care for the safety of pedestrians. It also failed to erect safety railings and to regulate traffic in the area, he said.

The council denied the claims, said it had no role in running the fair and had been trying to have it closed down for years.

The case had been dismissed in the Circuit Court and came before the High Court on appeal.

Yesterday, Mr Justice Paul Gilligan also dismissed it, saying, while the owner of the sulky may have had a liability, no case was made out against the city council.