ASSUMPTION OF THE RISK BLOCKS HORSEBACK RIDING ACCIDENT CLAIM
Date: June 7, 2011
Case: Quigley v. Frost Valley YMCA
Court: Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Second Department, New York.
From: New York attorney Gary E. Rosenberg (personal injury and accident attorney and lawyer; serving Brooklyn Queens Bronx; Brooklyn accident injury lawyer)
In an action to recover damages for personal injuries suffered while horseback riding, the accident victim lost on defendant's motion for summary judgment. Plaintiff lost again on appeal.
RELATED POSTS:
INJURED CHEERLEADER ASSUMED RISK; LOSES SUMMARY JUDGMENT TO SCHOOL (Posted by Brooklyn accident injury lawyer Gary E. Rosenberg on May 30, 2011)
ASSUMPTION OF THE RISK TOSSES CASE OF TENNIS PLAYER WHO FALLS ON TORN NET (Posted by Brooklyn accident injury lawyer Gary E. Rosenberg on May 16, 2011)
ROLLERBLADER DID NOT ASSUME RISK OF SIDEWALK ACCIDENT (Posted by Brooklyn accident injury lawyer Gary E. Rosenberg on April 13, 2011)
VICTIMS OF ACCIDENTS AND INJURIES WHILE PLAYING SPORTS OFTEN CAN'T SUE BECAUSE OF LEGAL PRINCIPLE KNOWN AS ASSUMPTION OF THE RISK (Posted by Brooklyn accident injury lawyer Gary E. Rosenberg on December 25, 2010)
BASEBALL GAME SPECTATOR ASSUMES RISK & CAN'T SUE FOR ACCIDENT (Posted by Brooklyn accident injury lawyer Gary E. Rosenberg on April 20, 2011)
Accident victim was mounting a horse at a stable owned by defendant. The horse ran a little and threw her. The courts throw out this case based on our old friend, "assumption of the risk."
Voluntary participants in a sporting activity are presumed to have consented to those risks which are known, apparent, or reasonably foreseeable (see Kirkland v. Hall, 38 AD3d 497, 498; Eslin v. County of Suffolk, 18 AD3d 698, 699; Kinara v Jamaica Bay Riding Academy, Inc., 11 AD3d 588). The defendant established its prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law by submitting evidence that the plaintiff assumed the risk of a horse acting in an unintended manner, which is a danger inherent in the sport of horseback riding (see Kinara v Jamaica Bay Riding Academy, Inc., 11 AD3d 588). In opposition, the plaintiff failed to raise a triable issue of fact as to whether the defendant created a heightened risk by its alleged negligent conduct (see Zuckerman v. City of New York, 49 N.Y.2d 557, 562; Glenn v. Annunziata, 72 AD3d 886, 887; Lipari v. Babylon Riding Ctr., Inc., 18 AD3d 824, 825).
Accordingly, the Supreme Court properly granted the defendant's motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint.
