Sacramento Man Killed When Spooked Horse Collides With His Car, Part 1 of 2

The following blog entry is written to illustrate how a car accident lawsuit might follow. Reviewing this kind of case should help potential plaintiffs and clients better understand how parties in personal injury cases present such issues to the court.

(Please also note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this car accident lawsuit and its proceedings.)

CASE INFORMATION
FACTS/CONTENTIONS

According to Plaintiff: Decedent Sam Leonard, a 48-year-old real estate agent, was driving along Folsom Road in Sacramento in the early morning hours of February 12, 2005, when a horse ran on to the road and collided with Leonard’s vehicle. Leonard and the horse were killed instantly. Plaintiffs, decedent’s 46-year-old wife, 22-year-old son, and 19-year-old son alleged the corral, owned by defendants Max and Karen Surely, in which the horse was kept, was built of inadequate materials and was dilapidated. The dilapidated fence allowed for the horse to easily break through the fence and escape.

Defendants argued that their fence was adequate, given that their horses had never attempted to escape from the property before.

During the course of discovery and investigation, it was learned that a large Siberian tiger had escaped from a wild animal sanctuary and was roaming through Sacramento County at the time of the accident. The tiger and its tracks were observed at various locations in Folsom and El Dorado Hills, both east and west of the Surelys’ property, and both before and after the accident. An animal print was also found on a fence post on the Surelys’ corral. Due to heavy rains at the time, no other animal prints were found.

For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.

After settling with the Surelys for their $1 million homeowner’s insurance policy limits, plaintiffs filed a complaint against defendants Chuch and Mary Cameron who had rented a mobile home on their property in El Dorado Hills to the owners of the wild animal sanctuary.

For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.

Contact Information