Clark v. Henderson

MUSSELL, J. This is an action for damages for personal injuries sustained by plaintiff when he fell from a horse owned by the defendants. The accident occurred on March 18, 1956, and the complaint was filed on June 20, 1957. It is alleged in the complaint, among other things, that a confidential relationship existed between plaintiff and defendants ; that after plaintiff’s injury the defendants admitted liability therefor and represented to plaintiff and his wife that defendants were abundantly insured and “that their insurance protected the defendants from claims arising from injuries of the type and nature suffered by plaintiff, and that the defendants would see that the plaintiff was adequately recompensed for both his general and special damages caused by plaintiff’s injury”; that defendants assured plaintiff on five different dates that ‘1 an adequate settlement would be forthcoming”; that because of the confidential relationship of the parties and because of plaintiff’s mental condition, plaintiff relied upon the defendants’ promise of a settlement until immediately before the institution of this suit, and for that reason did not commence this suit within one year from the date of plaintiff’s injury. That the purpose of the defendants’ assurances of a settlement made to plaintiff and to plaintiff’s wife was to lull the plaintiff into a false sense of security so as to cause the plaintiff to postpone the commencement of this action until after one year after the date of plaintiff’s injury. Defendants in their answer denied generally the allegations of the complaint, alleged contributory negligence, unavoidable accident, assumption of risk and the statute of limitations. A jury was selected to try the cause but upon motion of plaintiff’s counsel it was excused and the issue of estoppel and the defense of the statute of limitations was tried before the court.

Plaintiff within a few days after falling from the horse ' owned by the defendants was examined by a physician who took X-rays and reported that plaintiff had a fracture of the third vertebra, chronic cervical sprain, and that his tendons and nerves were probably bruised from the fall. Plaintiff testified that for the first few days after the accident he did not think much about it because he “figured” that it was mostly soreness and that he would get over it; that for approximately three weeks he did nothing and then worked with his men building a house; that he continued his activities up until September and shortly thereafter began to deteriorate both mentally and physically.

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