She voluntarily mounted the horse. She also had previous riding experience. She was stupid to sue someone for her choices.
Honey, just give ol' Nitro a sugar cube and he'll calm right down.
They would say “these cases are less than 3 %” which of course is BS..
I’d say that one takes one’s chances when getting on a horse. Its wise to do ground drills with any horse you
plan to ride. If you can’t round pen your mount and get
it to do what you want it to do on the ground, don’t ride
it.
If lawsuits like this one succeed, eventually we'll have no more horseback riding, white water rafting, swimming, diving, rock climbing, or any other potentially dangerous recreational activities, or they will be so prohibitively expensive, due to high liability insurance premiums, that only the very wealthy will be able to afford them.
The judge is correct in his finding, IMO.
She didn’t sue match.com for not protecting her from her own incompetence?
Accidents like this are why I prefer dirtbikes. The bike is just as fast, just as powerful (though granted not as quiet), but is far more predictable. It always does exactly what you tell it to, no matter what the consequences.
If she really were a horseback rider, she would know full well that horses, not unlike dogs or children, love to make a liar out of you. So, perhaps she fraudulently misrepresented her experience with horses?
Maybe I am too cynical, but this lawsuit is so frivolous and inane that it has the feel of a bitter, jilted woman trying to get payback, rather than an honest citizen who believes she has a real, legally actionable case.
She should be required to pay all the legal costs, as well as reimburse the courts for their wasted time.
Anyone who gets on a horse’s back - or is around them on the ground - has to accept the risk of injury or death. A horse can be “bomb-proof”, but if it meets a bomb it hasn’t seen before (blowing paper, motorcycle, etc), all the proofing can disappear fast.
With experience, you can reduce the probability, but you cannot eliminate it. Many states have laws that specifically address this.
FWIW - Federico Caprilli invented the ‘forward seat’ for jumping with horses, now used by everyone. He was killed in 1907 (age 39) when his horse slipped and fell on icy cobblestones...
http://www.sporthorsesnewzealand.com/caprilli.html
If she had to have a craniotomy, it sounds as though she wasn’t wearing an approved helmet. And that was her own stupid fault. Nobody should get on a horse without a helmet. The greatest experts wear helmets, and sometimes when they don’t they end up dead (just last year a dressage master in California, schooling a very quiet and well-trained horse on the flat and on a soft surface, fell off and sustained a fatal head injury).
Horse do stuff. Horses are dangerous. Even the most gentle horse weighs at least a thousand pounds, and few of them have much sense of responsibility. If you ride, you’re taking a risk. It’s part of the deal, and lawsuits don’t change that. If you don’t want to risk injury or death, don’t ride.
P.S.: Last Sunday, schooling an obnoxious off-the-track Thoroughbred (my specialty, as per my screenname) I fell off for the first time in two years. I landed on my head and neck. If I had not been wearing a top-of-the-line approved CO helmet I would have had a serious head injury.
My daughter has ridden for years, and in the stable is clearly posted a Kansas law stating that just being in the barn means you accept any and all risks from being around the horses. So I’d say tort reform in that area is ahead of the curve.
I saw demonstrations of this belief every time I had the misfortune of driving through Cambridge, Mass. as good little Libs blithely hurled themselves into the path of my on-coming vehicle confident that a law requiring me to yield would in every instance bring half a ton of steel to a stop.
Woman sues man - how 20th century. Hire Cass Sunstein and sue the horse.
From the article:
“the two horse lovers made plans to go on a date to a Westchester, N.Y., stable. “
“But on their third date, when the two met on a winter afternoon, the day took a tragic turn. “
“Following the accident, Papp and Stanislav remained in touch for about two years.”
“Two years later, Stanislav, sued Papp, claiming he failed to provide her with an obedient horse . . . “
IOW, They decided to go horseback riding on a date. On their third date, she fell. After dating for another two years, out of the blue she sues him.
What is wrong with this picture????
Have they mentioned whether ‘Teddy’ has filed suit yet?
This time next year he’ll be able to file.
The Judge ruled correctly.