Claims Regarding Horse Accidents

We have recently been witness to an increasing amount of claims regarding horse accidents by people who have been hurt from riding horses or from passersby.  In this article we will try to discuss the rights of those involved in horse accidents.  These can be divided into five categories:

1)                  Injuries while taking part in sports activities as part of an organized horse riding club.

2)                  Injuries from riding horses during leisure time at a horse riding club.

3)                  Injuries from riding on privately owned horses.

4)                  Work involved injuries from horses

5)                  Injuries from a horse due to the horse being scared.

In each of the above incidents we will firstly relate to the injuries suffered to the people who were riding the horse.  In the second part of the article we will relate to passersby who could get hurt from a horse. 

Horse injuries which occur in an organized club for horse rider training where there are trained and experienced instructors, training must take place in an organized horse farm equipped with all necessary safety measures.  Before each training session these precautions must be prepared in advance.  Without these security precautions training can lead to physical injury.  Preparation for the training must include:  Receipt of appropriate medical authorization as to the physical condition and health of the person who is going to be riding the horse.

For young children a special note of permission must be provided by the parents and before each and every lesson riding principles must be explained.

Appropriate riding clothes include:  Long pants, strong, high shoes, a riding helmet etc.  When a rider is injured a number of sources can be sued:

Personal accident insurance policy for students – This applies to children under the age of 18 and compensates children for any accident.  This policy applies 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year including abroad.  This policy provides a one time compensation which is defined according to the level of the child's disability caused by the accident.  For every permanent disability percentage, the child is entitled to $800.  If, for example, the child was determined to have a 10% permanent disability the insurance company would pay compensation amounting to $8,000.  It is recommended to consult with a lawyer expert in children's accidents for this claim.

Personal accident insurance policy for sportsmen – According to the Sports Law, the Sports Clubs must insure their sportsmen with this policy so that they are duly compensated should an accident occur while at the club.  As opposed to the policy for students, these policies only apply when the sportsman is at the club.  If a sportsman is also a student he can apply for compensation from both insurance policies for the same accident!!!  In this case it is recommended to consult with a lawyer expert in horse accidents.

A claim for damage against the riding club – In order to win such a claim it must be proven that the club acted negligently and thus the accident occurred.  This can happen in a number of ways:

-          If the accident involves a child and the club did not receive written authorization from the parents for the child to participate in horse riding activities;

-          When the riding school representative does not question the rider about his experience on riding a horse

-          When the rider reports to the club representative that he has not ridden a horse for a long time, the club is responsible to go over the principles of horse riding with him.  This instruction should be provided by a qualified instructor with horse riding experience.  If the club did not verify that the rider was dressed properly, including a helmet.

It is important to consult with a lawyer expert in sports injuries and horse riding accidents immediately after the injury. 

A damage claim against a school/youth club/summer camp/other similar – If the child was injured during horse riding (enrichment class) at school/youth club/summer camp that institution will be held responsible.  For example, the management of the school did not make sure the instructors were qualified to give such a riding class to the children, that institution can be sued for negligence.  In such a case it is also recommended to consult with a lawyer expert in horse injuries.

Damage claim against the injuring party – If the horse injury resulted from an injuring party on the horse track, that injuring part can also be sued.  For example:  If somebody has dug a ditch on the riding path and negligently forgot to cover it up or to put up an appropriate sign, he is liable to be sued.  If somebody put up a wire fence on the riding track and the horse hit the fence causing the rider to fall, this is cause to sue.  In cases such as these consult a lawyer dealing with bodily injuries, immediately after the accident.

In a case there the horse rider hits an innocent pedestrian the citizen can sue both the riding club and the horse rider.  Often the passerby can sue the owner of the place where the accident occurred.  For example:  A person is leisurely sunbathing at the seaside and suddenly a galloping horse hits him, he can sue the municipality of the beach where the horse riding accident happened since it falls within this municipality's jurisdiction.  The basis for the suit against the municipality is that there is supposed to be municipal supervision making sure that horse riders do not gallop along the beach or in places where people can run at their leisure.

It is important to note that a person can only put himself at risk, not other people.  People involved in horse riding are not suicidal but they are supposed to take into account, that each time he rides the horse it could end up in an accident which could cause disability, or death.  Riding a horse can often cause accidents to passersby.  In such cases the law is involved.  If a man fell on another man or on property due to a horse galloping accident, he could be sued and in this case both parties lost their lives, that horse rider's estate can be sued for the damages caused.

If such an accident occurs at a riding club, then the riding school can also be sued since the accident occurred while at the school and probably due to negligence of the club which did not check and/or did not investigate and/or did not ask and/or did not instruct properly and as a result the rider caused bodily damage to a citizen.  In such a case, consult with a lawyer expert in bodily injuries, preferably a lawyer expert in horse accidents. 

Fun horse riding activities at a club are very enjoyable providing there are no accidents.  If a person comes to an organized club and wishes to ride a horse, he should be asked what his riding experience and ability is.  It is important to know that even if a person has ridden a horse in the past, but for years has not, he should be given a supervised test ride by a qualified instructor who goes over riding principles prior to the horse riding. Usually if a person successfully rode a horse at the age of 20 he lives an illusion that at an older age he will know how to ride, but professionals in the field must clarify to him that horse riding is not like bicycle riding, and it could be that after a long time of not riding on horses his riding skills have been affected and he might need a number of lessons before he can go off riding at his own leisure.  In addition, prior to each ride it is necessary to go over important issues regarding each client's skills as well as his physical health.  The rider must be dressed appropriately – long pants, strong high shoes, a helmet etc.

When a horse riding accident occurs at the time of leisure riding at an organized club you can sue the following:  Personal accident insurance policy for students – if it regards a child under the age of 18, as mentioned above.

A contributing guilty partner - In the case that the rider himself is injured by someone else – In most cases this refers to a person responsible for his own actions and who is aware of the minimum safety precautions which have to be taken when riding a horse and who knows that this is a dangerous activity.  A significant part of the legal process will deal on how much the rider is to blame.  For example:  If the court rules that the level of compensation to be paid to the rider is NIS 100,000 and the contributing guilty partner 30%, then the horse rider will receive NIS 70,000 and the other person NIS 30,000 – 30% of the value of the compensation.

If an innocent bystander is injured by a horse he can sue the horse rider and almost for sure also the club.  The court will most likely rule that both of those being sued need to share the damages which have to be paid to the party injured. 

Personal accident insurance policy for students – if it relates to a child under the age of 18, as mentioned above.

Damage claim against the injuring party – If the horse riding accident occurred because of a disturbance on the track, the injuring party can also be sued, as mentioned above.

Horse injuries during work – Work related accidents and horse accidents.  This can be considered a work related accident not only regarding a horse rider within working hours, but also regarding an employee riding to work or back to home when the accident occurred.  A person on his way to his work at the horse farm (For example:  A mailman, pizza messenger) and for some reason he was hurt by a horse, this will be considered a horse accident as well as a work related accident.  In such a case you can sue the following:

The National Insurance Institute – Department for work injuries – After the accident has been recognized as a work accident you can receive compensation for a period of up to 91 days when you are unable to work, and afterwards you can sue for a disability benefit or a disability grant from the workplace.  Read more details on the article relating to work accidents.

Damage claim against the rider – There is no doubt that in every accident there is some guilt on the part of the rider.  Sometimes the rider is totally to blame and sometimes the blame is partially his and partially other sources.  In this case it is also important to mention that if the rider himself is injured in the accident, and there is a contributing guilty partner, then the amount of compensation must be calculated accordingly, as mentioned above.

Damage claim against an employer – The employer can be sued if he was negligent on taking care of the employee's safety.  Falling from a horse because the horse was suddenly frightened and the source which frightened the horse was an engine powered vehicle and the horse rider was physically injured, the accident will be defined as a work accident. 

An engine powered vehicle refers to:  Tractor, truck, taxi, semi trailer, bus, minibus, train, tender, motorbike, or any other vehicle with a motor.  In this case details of the vehicle which scared the horse must be taken since the company which has to compensate the injured party is the insurance company of that vehicle.  If the vehicle fled from the site of the accident without leaving identifying details, efforts must be made to obtain this information.  In any event you must immediately turn to the Karnit Association, responsible for insuring people that are injured from traffic accidents in the case of hit and run incidents.  This is not a classic case of hit and run because the driver of the guilty vehicle may not have been aware of the accident, but in any event Karnit is supposed to compensate the injured party because this is a horse accident and therefore considered to be a traffic accident.

Important!!!  If the horse accident is defined as a traffic accident you cannot sue the other sources mentioned above since this is considered to be a traffic accident.  In this case, the vehicle's insurance company takes full responsibility for the bodily injuries.  In such a case it is also recommended to consult with a lawyer expert in injuries caused by a horse.  Call free to: 1-800-229-444, call now!!  Each telephone call will be handled professionally and with patience.