Going for a horse ride can be an enthralling experience for many, but there is also little denying just how dangerous these magnificent creatures can be. Visitors to stables and horse clubs rely on employees to maintain safe environments in which both riders and horses can proceed with safety. Sadly, one California woman claims that this was not the case during her visit to a riding club, which is why she decided to file a premises liability suit.
In Sept. 2014, the woman went to the riding club that she had apparently frequented several times before. While in a riding session with a trainer, another employee started up his truck nearby. The truck backfired and spooked the animal, which then broke out into a full gallop with the rider still atop its back. She was then tossed off of the horse and broke both her tailbone and pelvis, along with suffering multiple fractures.
Her lawsuit claims that employees of the riding club are specially trained and aware of the effect that sudden noises have on horses. When frightened, horses are well-known to gallop regardless of their trainers' instructions. Because of this, she believes that the employee who turned on his truck near the horses was unfit to be employed at the club, and that as such he and the club were both negligent.
Premises liability claims are often framed in the context of slip-and-fall accidents or obvious dangers, such as cracked sidewalks. In reality, people in California can be injured by any number of dangers while on another person's property. When property owners fail to maintain adequate safety levels, victims can usually hold them accountable for their physical injuries, emotional trauma and medical bills by navigating premises liability claims to successful ends.