New Lenox Township Horse Death Spurs Lawsuit In Will County

NEW LENOX, IL - Every week, a litany of personal injury lawsuits involving car crashes are filed at the Will County Courthouse, but one civil lawsuit filed this week stands out from the rest. Humberto Gomez is suing Juan Florian surrounding the October 2015 death of Gomez's horse in New Lenox Township. The case stems from an October 25, 2015 crash involving Florian's sports utility vehicle and Gomez, who was riding on his horse near the Hadley Preserve operated by the Forest Preserve District of Will County.

The lawsuit was filed by Chicago attorney Steven M. Gleason of Nilson, Stookal, Gleason & Caputo. During an interview Thursday morning, Gleason told Patch that authorities in New Lenox ticked both his client as well as Florian after the crash, but it was his understanding both citations were later dropped. Gleason said he fully anticipates the defense will argue that his client had been drinking alcohol prior to being struck on his horse, but Gleason maintains that's completely irrelevant to the crucial facts of the case.

According to Gleason's lawsuit, Humberto Gomez was riding on his horse along a public use trail through the Hadley Preserve over near Farrell Road. The trail crosses U.S. 6 and connects to a sidewalk on the south side of U.S. 6. Gomez was riding on his light-colored horse and leaving the Hadley Preserve to cross U.S. 6, so he did so, using the marked pedestrian crosswalk. It was dark at the time, though.

All of a sudden, Florian's sports utility vehicle, heading eastbound along U.S. 6, collided with the horse, the lawsuit states. "Our client was stabling his horse on the south side of Route 6," Gleason told Patch. "His injuries were pretty severe. He had head and facial injures and a skull injury. He got knocked off a horse and landed on the road ... the horse had to be disposed of."

Watch: Minooka Man Sued For Crashing Into Horse In New Lenox Township

Prior to the crash, Gleason said, his client had been out riding with a friend.

The lawsuit accuses Florian of failing to yield the right of way to the plaintiff, failing to apply his brakes, operating his vehicle with a careless and negligent disregard for the safety of persons and driving at a speed which was greater than was reasonable "which endangered the safety of the Plaintiff."

The "Defendant did strike Plaintiff and the horse he was riding with great force and violence, causing Plaintiff to suffer diverse temporary and permanent disabling injuries to his head, body, mind, limb and nervous system ..." attorney Gleason informed the court.

The first count of the lawsuit seeks more than $50,000 in monetary damages from the defendant Juan Florian. The second count asks the court to award the plaintiff $6,400 related to the horse's death.

"In addition to the value of the horse that was killed, Plaintiff incurred additional expenses moving the carcass of the horse and disposing of it," Gleason stated.

Court records indicate Gomez lived in the village of Schiller Park at the time. The defendant was living in Mokena at the time, but now lives in Minooka.

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