Wrongful Death caused by run away horse
Jan 01, 2014OUTCOME: $700,000 settlement
While in the course and scope of his employment, a 33 year old father of 2 was traveling on a rural county road at night when he came upon a disabled vehicle in his lane of travel. An attempt to avoid ... the vehicle by swerving resulted in the vehicle rolling over, resulting in his death. Investigation revealed that the vehicle in his path became disabled after striking a horse that was running loose in the road. The driver of the vehicle that struck the horse was also fatally injured. Claims were made by the families of both drivers against the owner of the horse for allowing his horse to run at large, which resulted in a split of the insurance policy limit. A subsequent claim was also made against the uninsured motorist carrier for the decedent, which vigorously disputed liability. After retaining a nationally renowned crash reconstruction expert, a settlement was reached with the insurance carrier as well. These claims were resolved without affecting the family's ability to collect lifetime workers' compensation benefits.