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SOUTHEAST TEXAS RECORD

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Amended complaint details woman's horseback riding injury

Apffel

GALVESTON - A Santa Fe woman who filed a lawsuit last year in response to a horseback riding injury has submitted an amended petition into her case.

As previously reported, Valerie Matejka is suing Tim Miller, also of Santa Fe, over an injury she sustained to her right arm while riding one of the defendant's horses two years ago.

Matejka's original petition explains that Miller invited the plaintiff over to his property on Nov. 9, 2009, to go horseback riding, adding she was directed "to ride that particular horse."

The suit asserts Miller failed to tighten the strap of the animal's saddle.

"When the plaintiff mounted the horse, the horse began bucking and running," the complaint states.

"The saddle then began to rotate on the horse because it had not been securely fastened to the horse."

The revised petition, entered Feb. 29 before the Galveston County Court at Law No. 1, adds more details of the incident.

According to the six-page document, the horse ran from the barn area and out into the pasture with Matejka "trying desperately" to control and stop the horse.

The horse threw the plaintiff to the ground before she could regain control and she seriously hurt her right arm, court papers say.

Miller filed an original answer a month after the suit was filed, evoking general denial and requesting a jury trial. He then amended the response to insist that it was Matejka's negligence that caused her to fall and that the accident was an Act of God.

Attorney Maggie Rico-Zamora of Houston is representing the defendant.

Matejka is represented by League City attorney Trey Apffel.

Cause No. 65,998

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