Regarding a Signed Release

[Spudsmyguy]

I was having a young rider ride my horse twice a week, actually doing training rides, for $20 per. She signed a release at the barn and all was well for a while. She’s a minor and not a professional, just wanted to increase her riding time and hone her training skills. She’s quite good and is competing her own horse in the jumpers.

However, I got to thinking that if she gets hurt on my horse at a barn where she doesn’t board and is a minor child, would that release hold up in court if things really go south? Would BO and HO be culpable? Is there a liability factor here?

I have since ended the arrangement because of these nagging questions. I’m no lawyer and don’t play one on TV and really have no legal knowledge so hoping for answers.

[JanM]

Minors can’t sign waivers, it has to be the custodial parent or guardian, and the age of signing a legal contract varies according to state.

[trubandloki]

@JanM

Minors can’t sign waivers, it has to be the custodial parent or guardian, and the age of signing a legal contract varies according to state.

But then there is the part where it has been determined in some states that a parent can not sign away liability for a minor.

[JanM]

Yes, Colorado and Washington state both said waivers signed by parent don’t waive a minor’s rights when they hit 18 or age of majority in the state. In the one case the child hit majority, and sued not only the resort they were skiing at, but the parent who signed the waiver, the other parent sued also.

The implications are chilling. Does that include a parent signing a surgical or treatment consent can be sued later by the child when they hit 18 or 19? Does a bad outcome for surgery mean parent, and medical personnel can be sued later? What about the waivers for sports leagues, field trips, or study abroad permissions?

[trubandloki]

@JanM

The implications are chilling. Does that include a parent signing a surgical or treatment consent can be sued later by the child when they hit 18 or 19? Does a bad outcome for surgery mean parent, and medical personnel can be sued later? What about the waivers for sports leagues, field trips, or study abroad permissions?

This was my thought too. How to make it so there is nothing a minor can participate in…geez.

[clanter]

this Sword has two edges…

Parent’s do, however, have legal responsibility for their children’s actions, both criminally and civilly, under the doctrine of parental liability

(https://www.findlaw.com/family/parental-rights-and-liability/parental-liability-basics.html).

[CindyB59]

I paid for contract from equine legal solutions. I had a minor release, an adult release and I believe a haul in release. While nothing is 100%, they were fairly ironclad

[TheBigEasy]

The best answer is this. Advice specific to your situation from legal experts (I love hearing from the lawyers here).

Anyone can sue anyone for anything. It’s the cost of defense, even if (g)your righteous that burns.

I had an attorney draw something up when I had a similar arrangement. There’s no silver bullet, just risk reduction. And it’s acknowledged a thousand times that this is a risk-assessment-risk-management sport.

[Dressurfrau]

Definitely get a release signed by BOTH parents/guardians. If one doesn’t sign, that parent can still sue.

Another good idea is an umbrella policy for you. Also the barn where you board may want to do additional paperwork. She’s not a barn employee or boarder so she’s not covered by their policy.

[findeight]

Sometimes the injured party or parent is not who comes after you. The insurance company that paid for treatment can seek to recover their loss from property owner, horse owner. ERs record the cause of injury and victims are often contacted for info on the accident by their own insurance company who covered the treatment so insurance company can try to recover.

Even in states with that equine liability statute, negligence can be claimed and you end up needing a lawyer if you chose to fight it, your own insurance may go to bat for you, or not. The injured party cant stop their insurance company from trying to recover.

Its not an intentional attempt to deprive anybody of saddle time, its self protection.

OP might want to explore Horse Owner Liability Insurance and that barn they are in needs to review their own. Assuming standard Home Owner liability would cover anything involving an owned horse could be a mistake, especially if horse owner was not the injured party.

Horse Owner liability policy can be attached to Equine MM policy and is pretty cheap. Some show barns require it these days, especially if they are on the road alot.

,

[Garythesquirrel]

@findeight

Sometimes the injured party or parent is not who comes after you. The insurance company that paid for treatment can seek to recover their loss from property owner, horse owner. ERs record the cause of injury and victims are often contacted for info on the accident by their own insurance company who covered the treatment so insurance company can try to recover.

This happened to a good friend of mine 25 years ago. A friend (experienced horse person) of hers was riding her horse and the horse tripped and fell on her. She didn’t sue my friend but the medical insurance company did, and won. Thankfully my friend had adequate liability insurance.

[wsmoak]

… and read the policy carefully, if you are paying the person to ride, your private horse owners liability policy may not cover it.

If you have assets at stake, it is worth it to pay your own lawyer to draw up a contract and releases for this.

This was all much easier in our 20’s when if someone sued, why bother, what were they going to get??

(If you are in a state that she serves, Kelly MacQueen is awesome.)

[Impractical_Horsewoman]

How awful! I’m surprised the insurance company won, but then again, they have deeper pockets than an individual.

[clanter]

@wsmoak

and read the policy carefully, if you are paying the person to ride, your private horse owners liability policy may not cover it.

the line is the payment as then the rider is an employee thus crosses over from personal into business

Believe me the business course I had regarding Insurance was an eye opener

[ecileh]

@findeight

Sometimes the injured party or parent is not who comes after you. The insurance company that paid for treatment can seek to recover their loss from property owner, horse owner.

This happened to my former BO when a kid broke her arm. Parents were fine with the inherent risk of the sport, all was well…and then their insurance company sued the BO.

Many years ago now I was kicked in the jaw while cleaning a yearling’s back foot. My MIL is a lawyer and asked if I wanted to sue the BO (her horse) and I said no–because it was my fault and also because I had signed a waiver and MIL told me that basically all waivers mean nothing. Lawyers can find loopholes, judges can award as they like.