Court case[1933] 2 KB 297

A horse drawing the defendants' milk van bolted and ran into a field, where it came to a stop and stood, still restless. The driver tried to calm and hold it, and called for help. The plaintiff, a bystander, went into the field to help the driver hold the horse's head. The horse lunged and the plaintiff was injured. There was no person or property in danger at the time he intervened. He sued the owners of the horse, alleging that their servant's negligence had allowed it to bolt and that his injury was the result.

The Court of Appeal held that the plaintiff could not recover. He had gone to the horse's head knowing the risk, at a time when there was no emergency and no one was in danger; his act was a voluntary acceptance of a known risk, so the maxim volenti non fit injuria applied. The case was distinguished from the rescue cases, in which the plaintiff acts on an impulse created by a danger to others caused by the defendant's negligence.