How do horse owners protect themselves from being sued in Australia?
for example -
If a stranger walks behind or frightens horse and stranger gets hurt.
Or if somebody is riding past your paddock and falls off when your horses bolt up to fence.
Or if you are at a public place eg show and something unforseen happens and your horse causes injury and damage to people and property.
Interesting question! I did a lot of research on this topic at Uni when I did a Bachelor of Agriculture with a major in Equine Studies.
First you have to consider whether you put your horse in a position where it was easy for an unaware stranger to be injured, or whether the stranger made a decision to put themselves in that position at their own risk.
If you have your horse in a crowded public place and a stranger walks behind or frightens your horse and gets hurt, then depending on the particular laws in your local jurisdiction, you can potentially get sued. Usually these will be signposted or commonly considered as "no horse areas" anyway, for example beaches, parks and footpaths in main streets.
On the other hand, if the stranger goes out of their way to go near you and your horse, or come onto your property, then they have done so "at their own risk", so you should be okay, and usually the court judge will automatically dismiss any case or claim that is filed.
If someone is riding past your paddock, and they fall off (no matter what circumstances), then they have no legal ground for a case. They are riding in a public area "at their own risk". No one forced them to mount their horse and leave their property, they did it by their own personal choice.
If you are at a horse show, you generally have to sign a disclaimer that says they (the show committee) will not be held accountable for any damage caused to your horse or property. Usually this same disclaimer protects your from the same happening to other people caused by your own horse. People compete "at their own risk", and in NSW at least, you are not allowed to handle a horse or compete until you sign a statement saying such.
If a member of the general public (someone who hasn't signed the statement) gets injured by your horse, there is potential for a legal case. However, once again, if the person has gone into an area that is clearly sign posted as "horses past this point, enter at own risk or similar", then they won't really have a legal case, and the judge will probably dismiss it. An example of this is an Ag Show, where the spectators come over from the carnival section to look at the horses. As soon as they move into that horse area, they are doing so "at their own risk".
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February 23rd, 2009 at 4:09 am
can you not get third party insurance for your horses and land, that would cover you for any sort of accident. maybe putting disclaimer notices up to warn people they approach your horses at thier own risk. if you are at a show the person injured cannot do anything, most responsible owners get insurance to cover their horses vet bills and im sure their is some sort of third party ins. available for competitors.
most people working around horses know the dangers and i dont think they can claim for compensation unless your horse actively caused damage for example it attacked a person for no reason or destroyed somones property as it tried to escape from your field.
i can only comment on uk laws best to check with a relevant ozzy horse body like http://www.australianhorsealliance.asn.au
http://www.horsecouncil.org.au
hope this helps
References :
February 23rd, 2009 at 4:15 am
Interesting question! I did a lot of research on this topic at Uni when I did a Bachelor of Agriculture with a major in Equine Studies.
First you have to consider whether you put your horse in a position where it was easy for an unaware stranger to be injured, or whether the stranger made a decision to put themselves in that position at their own risk.
If you have your horse in a crowded public place and a stranger walks behind or frightens your horse and gets hurt, then depending on the particular laws in your local jurisdiction, you can potentially get sued. Usually these will be signposted or commonly considered as "no horse areas" anyway, for example beaches, parks and footpaths in main streets.
On the other hand, if the stranger goes out of their way to go near you and your horse, or come onto your property, then they have done so "at their own risk", so you should be okay, and usually the court judge will automatically dismiss any case or claim that is filed.
If someone is riding past your paddock, and they fall off (no matter what circumstances), then they have no legal ground for a case. They are riding in a public area "at their own risk". No one forced them to mount their horse and leave their property, they did it by their own personal choice.
If you are at a horse show, you generally have to sign a disclaimer that says they (the show committee) will not be held accountable for any damage caused to your horse or property. Usually this same disclaimer protects your from the same happening to other people caused by your own horse. People compete "at their own risk", and in NSW at least, you are not allowed to handle a horse or compete until you sign a statement saying such.
If a member of the general public (someone who hasn't signed the statement) gets injured by your horse, there is potential for a legal case. However, once again, if the person has gone into an area that is clearly sign posted as "horses past this point, enter at own risk or similar", then they won't really have a legal case, and the judge will probably dismiss it. An example of this is an Ag Show, where the spectators come over from the carnival section to look at the horses. As soon as they move into that horse area, they are doing so "at their own risk".
References :
Bachelor of Agriculture with a major in Equine Studies.
Horse owner/breeder/competitor/rider!