My horse was expensively injured while at a trainer’s barn. In fact she was being trained at the time of her injury. She was rushed to the hospital and operated on, and after nearly four weeks there, she is now in my care. What is the liability of the training barn where she was injured? And how would I go about collecting any money from them? The horse was not insured so I don’t think it can be a case of “my insurance company will talk to your insurance company.” I don’t have the final bill yet, but think “nearly-new subcompact car” and you’ll be in the ballpark.
Not a lawyer so …
Do you have a contract with the trainer about injuries occurring while in the trainers possession?
Is there an agreement about liability?
Does the trainer own the facility?
Does the trainer have insurance?
Have you discussed with the trainer at all?
The trainer does have a bailment but your states laws determine just what that might be as far as actual liability goes.
Are you able to meet the legal standard of proof that the actions of the trainer caused the injuries to your horse, either directly or due to negligence on the part of the trainer?
Jingles for your horse. I hope she gets better.
Good luck.
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The short answer is “it depends.”
The longer answer is you need to talk to an attorney where the injury occurred and find out what the rules in that jurisdiction are.
Good luck in your inquiry.
G.
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who authorized the surgery, OP or the Trainer? if trainer, what authority were they acting on, had OP signed rights to the trainer to act in their behave in emergencies?
Not nearly enough facts. What happened?
to even have a chance of recovery, the trainer must have been negligent or reckless with the horse. An accident won’t do it.
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Who says the trainer has any liability? Horses can hurt themself alone in a field with nothing in it. That is life.
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Happened while they were training so does that mean in the saddle or at the facility. One thing I would say is this could fall under a “care, custody, and control” situation - and that would either be under the trainer or the barn owner unless the trainer is leasing barn. And then of course, then do the caregiver’s even have care, custody and control. Certainly a trainer can’t be released of all liability depending on the situation and what happened. Something in the field - nope, lunging with side reins and horse flips uh that could be a situation
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The horse slipped in the round pen while being free longed. Dislocated her hock. I don’t think he was negligent, it was something he had done many times with this horse and probably thousands of times with other horses. He owns the training barn.
To tell the truth, I had no notion that he would be liable for the vet costs, I am with SuzieQNutter, stuff happens. But a friend imagined that his insurance would cover such a thing.
My own understanding of insurance is that it might cover being sued – but I have no interest in suing anyone. I’ve been sued before and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone, particularly someone with whom I presumably may have a future relationship of some kind; he is well-known and well-liked in this horse community. Nothing says you can’t be my friend any more like a lawsuit.
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I am so confused. Why then post about having the trainer pay? Did you authorize the surgery?
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Yes I most certainly did authorize the surgery. They weren’t going to do it without a hefty down payment, for which I cannot blame them at all.
I suppose I am confused too. That’s why I posted. My friend waxed enthusiastic about how he ought to pay my horse’s medical bills because the accident happened while she was being trained, on his property, and I thought, “huh, really?”
I thought someone here might have a clearer idea than my obviously biased friend.
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Not a lawyer, but I’m pretty sure that liability insurance doesn’t work that way. You can’t just file a claim. You (or your insurance company if your horse were insured) would have to sue him.
https://www.einsurance.com/journal/filing-liability-claims-a-reality-check/
“Simply put, the purpose of liability insurance is to pay the insured’s court costs and damages arising from a lawsuit against the insured. Therefore, if there is no lawsuit, then no claim is possible.”
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Check your training contract, most you sign away the right to sue in the event of death or injury. Mine died. Honestly I was just happy they offered to bury him.
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Is your friend a horse person?
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Yes, but sometimes she has interesting theories about things.
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Yes, there is a hold harmless waiver but you know those are not necessarily enforceable. I am so sorry this happened to you. At least I think I may have saved my horse (there’s a long rehab ahead).
Thank you. That is my understanding as a layperson as well.
Interesting theories. I like it. I may have to steal that for future use! Lol.
I figured she didn’t know about horses… I was out to dinner with a friend recently and he started to pick my brain about buying a raw piece of land and boarding horses on it. Building costs, fencing, insurance, etc. I might’ve laughed when he asked how much I thought he’d make off it. We were sitting in a bar in Middleburg. I swear the people around us were chuckling behind their beers, too.
Sorry about your horse! Sending jingles for a good recovery.
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With all due respect to your friend’s opinion, I think that the precedent in this industry is for accidents like this to result in the horse owner paying… or euthanizing or whatever.
So sorry this happened to you!
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If your horse was insured while at the training facility, then you should ask your insurer about it. There is a Care, Control and Custody issue here, and most boarding businesses, especially a training situation, should also have CC&C coverage in addition to their liability policy. CC&C provides coverage for horses that get sick or injured while under their care/control/custody. Sure accidents happen… but this was a situation where the horse had an accident while being trained… I think there might be a CC&C issue and as such would be worth looking into.
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OP, I don’t know what planet your friend is from, but there’s simply no way anyone is paying this vet bill other than you.
First of all, horses are horses and this sounds like a true accident. There was no negligence involved. Even if your trainer had a hefty CC&C policy at the time, that only comes into play in the event of a lawsuit based on a horse that was injured through negligence. A CC&C policy does NOT replace an individual owner’s need to have their own insurance (or take responsibility for the injuries or illnesses that might befall their own horse/s during training, travel, or otherwise.
Secondly, even if there had been blatant negligence you would need to sue the trainer to access their insurance policy, which would be an expensive and difficult process. Suing in this instance would be unlikely to be profitable to anyone but the lawyers. IME, the only reason people sue in this type of situation is to fulfill a need for revenge or punishment–for example when there was either extreme negligence or an element of abusiveness.
@gottagrey, I hope you will consider editing your post–it is misinformation to suggest that a CC&C would apply in a situation like this. A trainer or barn owner’s CC&C policy does NOT cover random accidents that might occur during training or handling. If an owner wants a horse to be insured in case of a training accident, the owner needs to purchase their own insurance policy for the horse.
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