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Horses +
Party = Lawsuit?
A West Virginia woman
who attended a party is now suing her host because she
fell while trying to get on the host's horse. She
alleges that her host was negligent for serving
alcohol and then offering to let her ride one of his
horses. Never mind that she didn't even make it all
the way onto the horse!
Here's the news story from The West Virginia
Record
This case is a great example of why every horse owner
should have their social guests sign a liability
release before they ride (or even come near) horses.
If the plaintiff in the above case had signed a
liability release in which she assumed the risk of
horseback riding, her case would have been a lot less
attractive prospect for plaintiffs' lawyers (many of
whom work on a contingency basis). A sound liability
release would also help prevent the plaintiff from
winning her case, and would provide a good basis for
the defendant to negotiate any settlement amount
downward.
The case is also a great illustration of why horse
owners should consider having a homeowners' umbrella
liability policy that includes horse-related
accidents, and/or a horse
owner's liability policy. Here, unless the
party-host-turned-defendant had insurance coverage
that will pay to defend him in this suit, it could
cost him tens of thousands of dollars to defend
himself against the plaintiff's claims.
Finally, the case is also a good example of why
living in a state with an equine activity statute
doesn't prevent horse owners from being sued.
Here, West
Virginia's equine activity statute actually spells
out several affirmative responsibilities that are
quite helpful to support the plaintiff's claims. For
example, Section 20-4-3(1) states that "Every
horseman shall make reasonable and prudent efforts to
determine the ability of a participant to safely
engage in the equestrian activity, to determine the
ability of the horse to behave safely with the
participant, and to determine the ability of the
participant to safely manage, care for and control the
particular horse involved." Because part of the
plaintiff's claims depend upon the idea that the
defendant made an unsafe activity even more unsafe by
serving alcohol, the plaintiff is sure to point to
this statute and allege that the defendant didn't
fulfill his duties.
Additional
Information:
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