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A trip to the restroom shouldn’t turn into a contact sport, but sometimes bad things happen.
In March 2010, Thomas Duban and his wife, Martha, attended a horse sale at the Waverly Sale Barn in Waverly, Iowa. Martha said that she went along only to keep her husband company, had no intention of buying anything, and didn’t even have a bid card. What happened next, according to court documents, was this:
“At some point during the sale, Martha needed to use the restroom. The restrooms are located at the south end of the sale barn. In order to get to the restrooms from her seat at the north end of the arena, Martha had to walk through an egress in the northeast corner of the arena, exit the arena, and walk to the south end of the sale barn where the restrooms were located. When she was returning to her seat, two large Percheron draft horses were being led from the arena through the northeast egress to stalls outside the arena. While she was in the northeast egress area, the two horses shied, knocked Martha to the ground, and stepped on her, causing serious injuries.”
The Dubans sued the owner of the sales barn, claiming negligence and loss of companionship.
Spectator or Participant?
Iowa, like 45 other states, has an equine activity law that insulates sponsors of horse events (such as horse sales) from liability for personal injuries in manyÑbut not allÑsituations. These laws often make a distinction between a person who is a participant in the horse activity and a person who is a spectator, the idea being that someone actually taking part in the event is more likely to be aware
re: Defining Liability
It seems there was no way for Mrs. Duban to use the restroom without crossing through an area where horses and pedestrians would mix. This is poor planning on the part of the sales company, and therefor appears negligent. Lucky for them I’m not on the
re: Defining Liability
Was that the only route available to get to the restrooms? Perhaps she made the choice to use that particular route because it was more direct, instead of a longer but safer route. Maybe it’s a good thing that a jury will hear ALL the facts
re: Defining Liability
Maybe the solution is to not allow "spectators". I can remember leading a young horse into the horse barn at a large state fair. A "spectator" stepped out from behind a column and patted the horse I was leading on the rump. Totally
re: Defining Liability
What also strikes me is that sponsors of activities totally ignore the "negligence" exception that is in nearly all states’ equine activity statutes, some to the point that they don’t think they have to carry liability insurance for their eve
re: Defining Liability
Wow, I was really excited about reading this one! defining a liability situation isn’t as easy as it may present itself to look like from the onset. It has SO many variables to it in every situation even when they seem the same looking from the outside
re: Defining Liability
All horse persons know and understand the inherent risk of being around horses. When the public and horses are exposed to each other, especially in a public space as this is. Where not all people understand the circumstances of being around