Last Friday, the Supreme Court of Texas denied Brenda Young’s petition for review. The 14th Court of Appeals’ holding that Chapter 87 can immunize defendants against suits brought by independent contractors will stand.
The Court’s notice regarding the denial of the petition for review can be downloaded here.
The Supreme Court did not give a
Yesterday, counsel for Brenda Young filed a petition for review of the 14th Court of Appeals’ decision discussed in this prior post. This will be the first time the high court has ever been given the opportunity to decide whether or not Chapter 87 immunity applies to claims brought by workers.
A copy of Young’s
As we discussed in this prior post, the Supreme Court of Texas has not yet addressed the issue of whether Chapter 87 of the Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code (the “Act”) shields defendants from liability in suits where employees or independent contractors are injured while engaging in an equine activities. Up until last week
As I’ve previously stated in this prior post, negligence and malpractice lawsuits against veterinarians are generally “tough sleddin’” for plaintiffs in Texas. Would-be plaintiffs who wish to sue their veterinarians often face major obstacles such as: 1) proving damages; 2) obtaining effective expert testimony; 3) paying litigation expenses where there is a low likelihood of recovery
Attorney Gregory M. Dennis gave an excellent presentation on Veterinary Malpractice at the 2010 National Conference on Equine Law. Greg’s topic could not have been more timely or relevant. We receive multiple calls per week from horse owners wishing to sue their veterinarian for injury to or the death of their horse.
My firm does not
A gentleman recently told me that his stallion had gotten loose, gone onto his neighbor’s unfenced property, and "worried" the neighbor’s mares. The neighbor shot at the stallion with a shotgun, and stated that the police told him he was justified in doing so because the stallion was "trespassing on his property."
Is the stallion owner liable for property damage or injury to persons caused by his stallion? Generally speaking, not unless the stallion owner knowingly let the stallion roam free.
Important to this analysis is that Texas is, generally speaking, still an open range state. That is–livestock may still roam at large in Texas with two exceptions:
As expressly provided by the Code, some counties in Texas have enacted county wide stock laws, yet others have chosen to elect stock laws only in certain precincts or areas within said county. Unfortunately, there is no statewide index that traces the counties or areas where stock laws have been passed.
Continue Reading Is a Horseowner Liable for Damages if a Horse Gets Loose?
Veterinarians may have several legal defenses to claims of malpractice. One of the most important 
procedural defenses is that of the statute of limitations. A statute of limitations is a state law that puts a limit on the amount of time a plaintiff has to file a lawsuit, usually from the time the injury occurred
Several people have asked me if I thought there would be litigation over the death of Eight Belles after her second place finish at the 2008 Kentucky Derby on May 3. Although animal rights activists staged a protest at the office of the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority after the filly’s death, I don’t think there
Someone recently asked me if he had a case against an equine surgery clinic that told his local vet during a telephone conversation to not send them the mare because they did not have room for her at the clinic. The mare died 4 hours later of colic complications, and the owner stated that she would have lived if the vet clinic had admitted her and performed colic surgery. The mare in that case was not a current patient of the clinic. The owner would not have a valid claim against the clinic in that case.
The decision of whether to accept an animal as a patient is at the sole discretion of a veterinarian. This rule is set forth in Article II.E. of the the Principles of Veterinary Medical Ethics of the American Veterinary Medical Association, which applies to all veterinarians in the United States. The Texas Rules of Professional Conduct for veterinarians codifies that rule for vets practicing in Texas. Therefore, even in emergency situations, vets do not have to take your horse if, for example, you cannot pay for the treatment or they simply do not have time to treat your horse.
For a vet to be potentially liable to a horse owner for injury or death of their horse, a veterinarian-client-patient relationship (VCPR) must first exist. The VCPR is established when all of the following conditions are met:Continue Reading Does a Veterinarian Have to Treat Your Horse in an Emergency?
"Absolute insurer rules" and "trainer liability rules," common in horse racing and other equine sports, presume that trainers are responsible when their horses test positive for illegal substances. In effect, the rules make trainers guilty unless proven innocent.
The effect of this presumption is to shift the burden of proof from the governing body to the trainer, who must prove innocence by showing that he or she did not negligently administer a prohibited substance to the horse or did not negligently allow someone else to interfere with the horse. These rules can result in the imposition of a penalty against the trainer and/or the horse’s owner without actual proof of guilt.
Courts have uniformly upheld the absolute insurer rules, despite the fact that they appear to violate the due process of law.Continue Reading Race Horse Trainers “Guilty Until Proven Innocent”