HARI Singh's life as a jockey came to a shocking halt on Tuesday, August 14, 2012, when his mount in the seventh race at Tamworth that day, Blue Onyx, fell at the home turn, throwing him violently to the turf.
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According to the first of two court cases to follow the fall, Singh was unconscious from the time he hit the ground, and was flown from the racecourse to the John Hunter Hospital, where he was treated in intensive care - initially in an induced coma - before being moved to a brain injury unit.
Suffering fractured vertebrae and permanent damage to his cognitive functions, the now 35-year-old is on WorkCover payments, with a permanent disability that means he is considered unlikely to ever work again.
In this day and age - and given the obvious dangers that jockeys face every time they ride out on to the racetrack - it is reasonable to expect that the industry as a whole be covered by sufficient insurance to ensure that those whose lives are compromised by injury should not have to live in straitened circumstances.
Muswellbrook race club held a fundraiser for Singh a year after the race, with former star jockey Malcolm Johnston the host. Since then, his situation has dropped from public view, until now, with a split decision in the NSW Court of Appeal upholding a NSW Supreme Court verdict last year that went against Singh's claim for $5 million in settlement.
One of the strengths of the English system of justice - which we have in Australia - is that its reliance on legal precedent to interpret the law generally gives rise to consistent rulings. This means that if a legal question has been dealt with previously, it is dealt with the same way, next time around.
But as the 3-2 appeal court decision against Singh shows, even eminent jurists come to opposing interpretations of crucial clauses. Much of the case revolved around the meanings of words: whether the "risk" in a horse race is "obvious", or whether horse racing was a "recreational activity", when for Singh and other jockeys, the racetrack is their place of work.
Similar considerations will probably apply if the case goes to the High Court, as Singh's legal team are suggesting. Events so far suggest that the Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW), introduced to deal with perceived shortcomings in the law at the time, might now in turn need a review.
