Dennis Quaid faces lawsuit over near-fatal horse accident
“The Day After Tomorrow” star Dennis Quaid is currently being sued by a horseback rider who claims he was nearly killed after being critically injured while riding a horse on the actor’s equestrian estate in California — adding that it was due to the poor design of a trail for horses.
According to reports, Lester Wood filed a lawsuit against Dennis Quaid, claiming the actor gave him permission to ride a horse to a nearby park on Quaid’s estate in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles.
In an interview with the Palisadian-Post newspaper, 70-year-old Lester Wood said that the sprinkler system next to Dennis Quaid’s trail suddenly went off. The equine beast was spooked by the sprinkler, reared up and over and fell on top of Wood, causing him several injuries.
The next thing Lester Wood knew, he was in a critical condition at a nearby hospital, suffering from a concussion, fractured scapula, torn aorta, multiple pulmonary emboli, broken ribs a nicked liver, a tear in his bladder, fractured lumbar discs, a shattered pelvis, internal bleeding and a torn miniscus in his knee.
Wood added he was not wearing a helmet and was looking down at his watch at the time of the accident.
The horseback rider said the accident cost him nearly $500,000 in medical bills during the two months he stayed in the hospital. Wood is now blaming Dennis Quaid for what he believes is a defective trail design.
Dennis Quaid — who was last seen in movie “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” — no longer owns the property and has yet to comment on the lawsuit filed by Lester Wood.
Dennis Quaid first gained national attention during the 1980s. His career rebounded in the 1990s after he overcame drug addiction and an eating disorder. Some of his notable credits include “Breaking Away,” “The Long Riders,” “The Right Stuff,” “Enemy Mine,” “Great Balls of Fire!,” “The Big Easy,” “Far from Heaven,” “The Rookie,” “The Day After Tomorrow,” “Traffic,” “Vantage Point,” “Footloose,” “Frequency,” “Wyatt Earp,” “The Parent Trap,” “Soul Surfer” and “Innerspace.”