Whos at fault here then?

[speedy king]

My girl friend was telling me the other day that she or her parents are being sued over a situation that happened the other weekend.

She's selling her horse and one of the pople who came to view him and ride him fell off and broke his shoulder after what she said he was riding him irresponsibly too hard and whipping the horse too much as it became to get more aggitated before bucking after she had warned him a few times.

It would seem this man was at fault for being overly confident and harsh on the horse despite being given advice and warnings, at the end of the day it's an animal and no one can prevent an animal of it's size from acting in a way beyond a certain point?

[Captain VXR]

The person who was riding it was in the wrong, ignoring warnings.

[slinkster]

I can't see how this could be your girlfriend or her parents fault at all. I hope any legal teams involved sort this out promptly...

[Ian McC]

That's crap, but these days people will try and sue over anything, to me it's obvious it is him but I don't know how the law sees it. This is why the likes of teachers don't want to take kids on trips.

Whatever happened to people taking responsibility for there own actions? :rolleyes:

[BeansBeansBeans]

Whatever happened to people taking responsibility for there own actions? :rolleyes:

That goes out the window when there's the chance to make an easy few grand mate. I dislike this litigious culture we live in, it makes everything a total minefield.

[Hondo]

Although I agree it's the rider's responsibility or in this case, the rider's fault, your friends parents are still going to have to go through the time and expense of fighting a legal civil action. Does the Queens Bench make provision for the plaintiff having pay the defandemt's costs if the suit is lost by the plaintiff? Gannex?

Meantime, go ahead and counter-sue on the grounds that the screams of agony from the thrown rider has so traumatized the poor horse that it is no longer rideable.

Somebody will probably jump in and allow that some sort of release of liability should have been signed before the test ride began.

[Jag_Warrior]

Somebody will probably jump in and allow that some sort of release of liability should have been signed before the test ride began.


Well... yeah. In the U.S. at least, that's the best way to protect yourself. Someone can still sue you, but your chances of losing are greatly reduced if you have their signature on a release of liability form.

[Mark]

I would have thought it's just the same as car. If you come around to test drive my car and then drive it at 100mph and crash into a wall... Is that my fault?

[bowler]

these days you are probably at fault, along with the wall, and the fuel supplier.

[Loobylou]

If he was told that the horse needed a bit of a 'gee along' to get him going then I would, personally, say he has a good leg to stand on. But if, as is stated, he was warned to back off then it's his own fault. Law will probably disagree with me wuite vehemently there!

I went to test a horse a few months ago. Woman said he was lovely & that her daughter didn't have time to ride all the time, what with being at uni & all, this was November so I figured he'd been left in the field for 2months. When the beautiful animal threw her daughter twice I had some reservations but didn't want to seem rude. Got on board, having already decided that I wasn't going to ask for anything other than a gentle trot, & wound up galloping round the menage like a dervish! I got off as quick as I could & demanded to know when the horse was last ridden... the darling, horse loving daughter had gone to uni the previous year! Over a year & the poor bugger hadn't had a saddle on his back & there she was expecting him to perform like a good boy! Stupid cow.

Now that's a situation where he could sue. But your friend sounds more responsible than that.

Good luck. :)

[Dave B]

The guy should sue his parents for bringing him up to be an idiot :p

[luvracin]

The type of person who is aggressive, arrogant and not listening to advice are always the first people to sue when their own aggressive, arrogant attitude gets them in trouble. He'd really like to take revenge on the horse for denting his pride but he can't so he goes for the next best thing - the owners.

Complete ****er.

[libra65]

I think this guy riding the horse so irresponsibly should star in the "World Idiots" thread in this forum. I think if he was on my horse acting like an arse, I would have demanded he get off my horse & leave my property immediately. This 'gentleman' obviously doesn't know how to properly handle animals.

[Hazell B]

This is going to get nasty, Speedy.

The law is simple enough, but the difinitions when it comes to horses are so complicated - both parties need a specialist lawyer if this goes ahead.

Unlike cars, adverts for horses don't ever say MOT, tax and so on. If they say, for example "suitable for novice" it can mean anything from a totally brain dead plod to a sparky yet responsive ride that can jump five feet high yet stop ten strides later. If you girlfriend advertised her animal as suitable for .... it has to be so. If she said any term that can be legally defined within the horse world (other than stating an age for the animal), she's open to being sued if it isn't right - no matter what the rider did. Unfair sounding, but it's just the way it is now.

The laws are tight to stop dodgy horse dealers, but they cover all horses being sold or loaned. Horses kill people every day, so we have to put up with the high chance of facing legal fights over them.

If she advertised the horse as 'riding club type', 'hack', 'anyone's ride' or something similar, and the trail guy is hurt because it did something out of that type, she's in trouble. Sorry. Tell her to get a lawyer the second anything arrives from this guy's legal people. Use a specialist horse lawyer, details are available from the BHS, and do not sell the animal in the mean time - or she'll be facing more trouble from the new owers!

He probably won't sue, they don't usually bother. But if he does, please make sure she gets the best advice possible. If not, it's about two grand for whiplash type pain and so on, plus legal fees.

[speedy king]

I doubt it was advertised for a novice. They had just bumped the price up by 50% after it won another show the week it went on sale. I don't know how it was advertised though.

[Hazell B]

I doubt it was advertised for a novice. They had just bumped the price up by 50% after it won another show the week it went on sale. I don't know how it was advertised though.

That's good news.

The word 'hack' (if it's a show hack, for example) mean "safe to ride and use, especially in traffic" by law, so that's the only worry she'll have really. But at this time of year I'm guessing it's not a show hack if it's winning, so you're okay.

Tell her to take care another member of his family, or a friend, comes to try the horse now. It's an old trick - they arrive, ask if it's thrown anyone then brand you a cheat if you say no. Anything she says while selling it is legally binding these days.

[speedy king]

Just speaking to her, in her advert she wrote you ride at your own risk, if thats any use?

[Hazell B]

She's a genius!
That's perfect, he can't do anything now :p :

Doesn't matter if he's broken his back; he can't sue if warned it's at his own risk, sold as seen or caveat emptor.

[Ian McC]

Let us know what happens Speedy :)

[Mark in Oshawa]

I thought this sort of stupidity was reserved for North American ambulance chasers, but I guess not. Some morons will sue over their own stupidity no matter where they live.

[Hazell B]

Some morons will sue over their own stupidity no matter where they live.

I hear you there!

However, the laws here were originally put in place to stop sellers lying about safety of animals. Horses kill about one person a week here, mainly in silly 'bossy horse/nervous rider' type sitations, so making sure the new owners can sue the seller was a good move. We've just gone the wrong way and started using the system backwards now :mark:

A woman near here bought what was described as a 'novice' horse and two weeks later had a broken back. She's spent about four years now trying to prove the horse was anything but suitable for a novice like herself, paying experts thousands to test it's reactions, and she's still in a wheelchair and fighting in courts. I wouldn't handle that animal, it's traumatised to hell and dangerous, yet she's still stuck unable to sell it as she's got to tell the truth about it now .... yet the ex-owner is free to sell dodgy horses still.

I've known dealers sell a lame horse by bashing it's other three legs so all four are equally lame and it looks perfect during the sale. You can make them different heights, colours (the whiff of peroxide is strong at auctions sometimes!), ages and all sorts with just a few tricks. You can sell them with terminal fast-acting diseases like tetanus, given a few hours and a bit of knowledge. It's incredible really.