Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Since it appears that the insurance company approach to all lawsuits is 
"cover ass - the hell with the reputation of the person sued", then I 
would think that AERC needs to have in place some sort of very punitive 
policy, if not rule.  Back in May, Truman posted on the AERC forum:
   For that [AERC's] sanctioning they [ride managers] have to
   agree to run the ride in a certain manner and in return the AERC allows
   it's members to get points, miles, etc., from that ride. Ride vets are
   contractors of the ride managers...

   The AREC really has no "official dog" in whatever fight happens between
   rider and RM, rider and vet or RM and vet.

Losing a lawsuit as a consequence of vetting at one of our rides and 
doing it right is a permanent black mark on a vet's record.  Even if 
AERC has no chain-of-command involvement in such a lawsuit, it should 
have a firm procedure for dealing with riders who sue.  Our vets are too 
important to throw to the wolves.

1) Neither Vet nor Rider should be presumed responsible for the death of 
a horse.
2) Any time a ride vet is sued, the P&G committee should be charged with 
the responsibility of investigating the circumstances, PRIOR TO THE 
LAWSUIT EITHER GOING TO COURT OR BEING SETTLED.  The results of this 
investigation should be made available to the Rider, the Vet, the Vet's 
insurance company and possibly the Court as an Amicus Curiae brief.
3) Since it is the Vet who has been sued, the focus of P&G should be on 
the culpability of said Vet.  They should be required to render one of 
four decisions: a) The Vet failed to adequately inform the Rider of the 
seriousness of the Horse's condition, b) The Vet adequately informed the 
Rider of the Horse's condition but the Rider chose to ignore the advice 
of the Vet, c) The Vet properly treated the Horse at the ride, or d) The 
Vet's treatment of the Horse at the ride was inadequate.
4) If P&G's result is either (b) or (c) above, the Rider should be 
immediately informed that if he pursues legal action against the Vet and 
prevails, the Rider will be permanently banned from riding in any AERC 
sanctioned event.

There can be other stipulations, protections against truly bizarre or 
unforeseeable circumstances, but the guts of the procedure should be 
that if you sue a ride vet, who has properly performed his duty, and 
win, either by court decision or by default, you will not be able to 
ride in another AERC event, ever.

Again, our vets are too important to abandon when they are threatened 
for doing their jobs at our rides.  If a vet fails to act properly or is 
indifferent to a horse's condition and is sued, then that vet should be 
held accountable in a court of law.  But if a vet acts in accordance 
with a horse's welfare and the rider's actions cause or contribute 
substantially to that horse's death, then the RIDER should be held 
accountable by AERC.

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