Equine Law Blog

Someone Was Hurt While Riding Your Horse - When Saying “So Sorry” Might be Enough

You allowed someone to ride your horse, but the worst-case scenario later came true – your friend fell off and was injured. Certainly, the immediate response is to make sure that your friend received proper medical attention and that your friend is safe. But can your words, made after the fact, form a basis for liability? Sometimes they can. In a recent case from New Jersey, in fact, they did.

The case involved two friends who met through their children's parochial school. One of them (the defendant) owned horses, and the other (the plaintiff) asked to ride but her riding experience had been limited over the past 20 years. The defendant allowed plaintiff to ride a 17 year-old Thoroughbred mare named “Annie,” while the defendant rode an Arabian/QuarterHorse/Saddlebred cross named “Nicodemus.” Their ride, lasting about 40 minutes, went well, but upon return, the defendant suggested that plaintiff ride “Nicodemus” alone on the trail. Sometime later, after “Nicodemus” ran back to the barn alone, the defendant discovered that plaintiff had fallen off and was seriously injured. 

After the incident occurred, the defendant wrote a “To whom it may concern” letter in which she stated, among other things: “I was negligent in letting [the plaintiff] ride out alone...I did a very foolish thing. A very negligent and careless thing.”

A lawsuit followed, but the trial court dismissed the case on the strength of New Jersey’s Equine Activity Liability Act [N.J.S.A. 5:15-1 to -12], finding that the plaintiff’s injuries resulted from “assumed risks,” regardless of the defendant’s letter. The court of appeals reversed, however. In doing so, it found that the circumstances, and especially the defendant’s letter of admission, could potentially lead a jury to conclude that the defendant was liable for allowing a rider with insufficient experience to ride her horse alone on the trail. Under New Jersey’s statute, liability could potentially exist if the defendant engaged in an “act or omission...that constituted negligent disregard for [the plaintiff’s] safety, which act or omission caused the injury.”

Conclusion

Should you admit liability after an accident occurs? It always helps to make an informed decision after speaking with your lawyer.

The case was: Stroman v. Bell, No. A-1667-10T1; 2012 WL 4093578 (N.J. Super 9/19/2012)(unpublished).

Categories: Liability