Horse Collides with Mother’s Car and Kills Her

A woman of two adult children and one grandchild was killed when a horse escaped from a parked horse trailer and ran onto a highway, at night, and collided with decedent’s car. The horse jumped through an open 31 in. x 25 in. drop-down feed door that did not have safety guards (bars) to contain the horse when the feed door was left down for ventilation. The horse trailer manufacturer improperly made the safety guards, which would have blocked the opening, optional equipment instead of standard equipment. This trailer did not have the safety feature. A Scott County Jury found the horse trailer manufacturer to be responsible for decedents death. The Jury found the trailers design to be defective and unreasonably dangerous.
Wrongful Death Verdict: $829,000