Child Injury Lawyer Blog
By Jay Foster, Attorney and David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network
A woman and her daughter were riding horses with a larger group along the Big Foot Horse Trail in the DeSoto National Forest when Evan Joseph Kane fired a gun in their direction. Apparently, Kane was deer hunting at the time of the incident. Both horse riders and a horse suffered gunshot personal injuries. The ten year old girl suffered a punctured lung and was placed in intensive care. For safety, the trail is designed so that most of its length is near a public road, where shooting is prohibited.
While wearing a bright colored vest is not required for horse riders riding in or near a hunting area, it would be a wise decision for both adult and child riders to wear such a vest to make sure that they are clearly seen by hunters as well as drivers of vehicles. While accidents do at times happen, safety precautions like wearing a brightly colored vest can at times prevent or reduce the incidents of accidental shootings.
A spokesman for the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks said that more details would be available as the investigation progresses. The agency automatically tests for drugs and alcohol when a hunting accident occurs. The agency indicated that more charges may be filed against Kane. Of course, Mr. Kane will have the right to defend himself against any potential charges or citations for the incident. Kane may argue that he was hunting in a correctly designated area or have some other excuse for the shooting. Regardless of the outcome of the possible citation or any possible criminal charges, a girl and her mother were shot while on a peaceful horse ride. It will be a difficult trauma to recover from physically and psychologically.
Hunting laws and regulations have been put in place to protect both hunters and other people who use public land. You can read the details of this hunting accident at Mother, Child Shot in Deer Hunting Accident.