Legal Question in Personal Injury in Texas
Fell from horse - shattered shoulder, wrist and thumb
On August 22, 2004, I went to a local horseback riding ranch for a trail ride. My son and I signed the basic liabilily forms, and were led off on a trailride with their 17-yr old guide. About halfway through the ride i mentioned that we got to run our horses when we went to AZ, but always had to stay on trails in TX. She said we could run there and kicked her horse into a run at the next clearing. After about 50 feet my foot came out of the stirrup and I started sliding off. Once I was parallel to the ground, I knew I had to drop or get trampled. When I let go, I landed on my left shoulder, hit my head, and rolled aboout 20 feet. It took me about 10 minutes to catch my breath and see straight, but then I started feeling the pain in my left arm. My shoulder was numb and my wrist was obviously misshapen. The trail guide didn't know what to do and suggested we could either ride back to the barn or walk (about 200 ft). She tried to phone their office, but didn't get an answer. In GREAT pain, my son helped me up and we walked back to the brarn wuith the guide. She never called for an ambulance. I asked if I needed to sign anything and she said no. At the hospital, thet found a left crushed shoulder and wrist and broken ri
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Fell from horse - shattered shoulder, wrist and thumb
i am sorry for your injury. your posting was cut off so i was not sure exactly what your question was. i assume you wanted to know what legal liability the riding ranch would have and perhaps the validity of the liability forms. as to the liability of the ranch, as in all cases, you must prove that the ranch and its personnel breached a duty that it had to you and that the breach (or negligence)caused your injury. based on the information you have provided i am not sure that they did cause your injury. you do indicate that the guide could not get the office on the phone to bring assistance. while that may have made your injury more painful i do not see that fact as a basis for actionable negligence. as to "liability forms" i would have to see the wording on the forms. there is more of a tendency to by the courts to permit liability waivers to be valid; however, the exact wording must be reviewed. please feel free to email me with your precise questions if i did not address what you had in mind. bill featherston
Re: Fell from horse - shattered shoulder, wrist and thumb
It looks like your posting was cut off before you could ask a question. I'm assuming that you're asking whether the place can be held liable for your injuries, and therefore have to assist you with medical bills. The first thing to do is see if they have some sort of medical reimbursement plan that will cover a portion of your treatment. The second thing to do is review your paperwork. I don't want to comment on anything I haven't reviewed, but feel free to call me at the office to discuss your case in detail.
Re: Fell from horse - shattered shoulder, wrist and thumb
I had a similar accident occur to myself years ago, fortunatley the horse was merely walking. You may want to file an accident report form with them. The 17 yrd old probably did not know wherether or not they had those. Generally, if a waiver is done properly it will be upheld in Texas. The key provision is that is it done properly.
With regards to the liability forms, do you have a copy of them? Sometimes they do not give you a copy for your records. What was the name of the business? What county are you from? What couny were you injured?
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