Latest news with #MelissaSmith
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Daily Mail
Dressage rider left in a wheelchair after pack of dogs let off the lead by their walker spooked her horse wins £500k payout
A top dressage rider who was left in a wheelchair after a horrific accident caused by out of control dogs has won £500,000 in damages. Melissa Smith, a former international grand prix competitor, was riding her horse along a bridlepath in Surrey when two dogs being walked off the lead by a professional dog walker suddenly spooked her mare - causing it to rear up and fall on top of her. The devastating incident left the 40-year-old with a broken pelvis, broken back and serious head injury, and she had to be airlifted to hospital where doctors warned her the injuries were life-threatening. The terrifying fall left her unable to walk and confined to a wheelchair for months but determined Melissa battled back through multiple surgeries and two years of grueling rehab, and has even managed to get back in the saddle. Now, after a lengthy legal fight, she's been awarded half a million pounds in compensation and a court ruling which could have serious implications for dog walkers across the country. The accident happened in December 2018, when Ms Smith, who ran a livery yard and trained dressage horses, was out riding her eight-year-old mare Lorentina, affectionately known as Loti, on Crooksbury Common in Surrey. She encountered dog walker Diane Worth, who was out with four dogs, and warned her to keep them under control. Ms Worth managed to put two of the animals back on the lead, but two others, a black cockapoo named Buddy and a white cavapoochon named Harley, ignored her commands and ran free. As the dogs darted around her horse, Ms Smith again warned: 'Although my horse is good with dogs, their walker should not let them get behind her horse in case it kicked out.' Moments later, disaster struck. The startled horse reared up and threw Ms Smith to the ground, then fell on top of her, crushing her beneath its body. Speaking this week, Ms Smith told The Telegraph: 'The horse I was riding was badly frightened by the loose dogs and she fell on top of me, crushing me, becoming stuck with her legs up in the air. 'She managed to get up but I knew I was very seriously injured. I was taken by air ambulance to St George's where I was told I had life-threatening injuries, needed emergency surgery and would need two years' rehabilitation to recover.' Ms Smith took legal action against the dog walker, suing for negligence. The case went to court in 2023 after Ms Worth's insurance company disputed liability but the judge ruled in Melissa's favour, concluding she had suffered because of the dog walker's failure to keep the animals under control. Judge Jonathan Simpkiss found that something must have spooked the usually calm horse to cause her to rear and said it could 'only have been the dogs' behaviour.' He added: 'With the benefit of hindsight, one can easily see that if all four dogs had been on leads, this accident would probably not have happened.' One of the dogs, Harley, had reportedly been described by its owners as able to walk off the lead, 'but may chase other wildlife.' The judge said this should have included horses unless it was specifically noted that the dog was used to them. He ruled that it was foreseeable that if a dog ran loose near a horse, it could frighten the animal and the risk of a rider being seriously injured was significant. Ms Worth, he said, should have known that horses were regularly ridden on the common and ought to have anticipated such a risk. He found her liable, saying her failure to take reasonable steps to prevent the risk had caused the accident. Ms Worth admitted in court that she had lost control of Buddy and Harley. Her legal team had tried to argue that Ms Smith herself was partly to blame, saying her horse had been 'pawing' the ground and snorting, but the judge dismissed the claim, adding that the rider had been 'experienced and highly competent' and had been in control until the moment the horse reared. An allegation that Ms Smith should not have been riding in an area used by dog walkers, despite it being a public bridlepath, was withdrawn during proceedings. Melissa's solicitor Mary Ann Charles, from equestrian law specialists Shaw & Co, who is also a rider herself, said the accident should never have happened. She said: 'It's not an accident that should have happened. There's a lack of understanding that this risk exists. 'The person on the horse usually understands but the person with the dog doesn't necessarily. They're concerned about the welfare of the dog, not really thinking about the welfare of the people they're encountering.'
Telegraph
3 days ago
- Telegraph
Rider injured after dogs spook horse wins £500k
An international dressage rider left seriously injured after a pack of dogs spooked her horse has won £500,000 in damages. Melissa Smith was left with multiple fractures when her horse reared up and threw her to the ground after being chased by two loose dogs taken off the lead by a professional dog walker. Ms Smith was airlifted to St George's Hospital in Tooting, south-London, with life-threatening injuries including a broken pelvis, broken back and a head injury after the accident on a bridlepath in Surrey, in December 2018. The former international grand prix rider, who spent months in a wheelchair and required multiple surgeries following the accident, has since learnt to walk again and managed to get back in the saddle. She is now hoping to return to dressage competition as a para rider. Following the accident, Ms Smith sued dog walker Diane Worth for damages for negligence. The case went to court in 2023 after the dog walker's insurance company contested the case. Judge Jonathan Simpkiss found in Ms Smith's favour and the case was finally settled out of court last month. The judgment is thought to have important implications in laying out the responsibilities for dog walkers exercising their animals on public rights of way. The accident happened when Ms Smith, who ran a livery yard and trained dressage horses, was riding her eight-year-old mare Lorentina, known as Loti, and met Ms Worth walking four dogs on Crooksbury Common, Surrey. The High Court heard that Ms Smith called out a warning to Ms Worth, who managed to put two of the dogs back on their leads. But the court heard that she was unable to catch black cockapoo Buddy and Harley, a white cavapoochon. Ignoring Ms Worth's calls, Buddy and Harley ran around, prompting Ms Smith to call out that although her horse was good with dogs, their walker should not let them get behind her horse in case it kicked out. In court, Ms Worth agreed she had lost control of the two dogs. As the dogs raced around, Lorentina became spooked and suddenly reared up, throwing Ms Smith to the ground. Speaking to The Telegraph this week, Ms Smith told of the devastating impact of the accident: 'The horse I was riding was badly frightened by the loose dogs and she fell on top of me, crushing me, becoming stuck with her legs up in the air. 'She managed to get up but I knew I was very seriously injured. I was taken by air ambulance to St George's where I was told I had life-threatening injuries, needed emergency surgery and would need two years' rehabilitation to recover.' In his ruling, Judge Simpkiss said: 'Something out of the ordinary must have happened to cause Loti to rear and this can only have been the dogs' behaviour. 'With the benefit of hindsight, one can easily see that if all four dogs had been on leads, this accident would probably not have happened.' Harley's owners had filled in a form for Ms Worth saying that he would walk off the lead 'but may chase other wildlife' and this, said the judge, must include horses unless they had indicated it was used to horses. Judge Simpkiss found that it was foreseeable that if any of the dogs ran out of control near a horse, it might 'spook' the animal. He added that there was a significant risk of the horse responding in a way which might cause horse and rider to fall and for the rider to be seriously injured. Judge Simpkiss ruled that Ms Worth knew horses were ridden on the common and should have anticipated she might come into contact with a horse and rider while walking dogs, with an out-of-control dog causing a horse to respond violently by kicking, rearing or bolting. He found Ms Worth liable for the accident, and ruled that her breach of duty of care in failing to take reasonable steps to prevent the risk caused the accident. Ms Worth's solicitors had argued that Ms Smith was partly to blame for the accident, saying she had failed to control her horse, which was 'pawing' the ground and snorting. An allegation that she should not have been riding in an area where dogs walked – although she was on a bridlepath – was withdrawn. Judge Simpkiss found that Ms Smith was an experienced and highly competent rider, who was in control of the horse until she reared, and the allegation that she negligently fell off the horse could not be taken seriously. Mary Ann Charles, Ms Smith's solicitor of Shaw & Co, who is herself a rider and specialises in equestrian personal injury claims, said: 'It's not an accident that should have happened. There's a lack of understanding that this risk exists. 'The person on the horse usually understands but the person with the dog doesn't necessarily. They're concerned about the welfare of the dog, not really thinking about the welfare of the people they're encountering.' Following her accident, Ms Smith endured a painful road to recovery, but she remained determined throughout to fight compensation and for dog walkers to be made aware of their responsibility to remain in control of their animals at all times.
Business Wire
22-05-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Impactive Capital Comments on Clear Message Sent by WEX Inc. Shareholders That Board Change Is Needed
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Impactive Capital, LP, ('Impactive' or 'we') together with its affiliates, one of the largest shareholders of WEX Inc. (NYSE: WEX) (the 'Company' or 'WEX') with an ownership interest of approximately 7.0%, today commented on the results of the Company's 2025 annual meeting of stockholders (the 'annual meeting'). Impactive previously disclosed its intention to vote against the election of three directors – Jack VanWoerkom, Melissa Smith, and James Neary – in its open letter to shareholders on May 2, 2025. Each of these three directors received high percentages of against votes at the annual meeting. Specifically: Jack VanWoerkom, Lead Independent Director, who has served on the Board for two decades, received only 57.2% support 1, a decline of 38.4 percentage points compared to 95.6% support last year, placing him in the 0.3 rd percentile 2 of all directors elected at S&P 400 companies in 2024; Melissa Smith, CEO and Chairwoman, received only 64.3% support 1, a decline of 33.4 percentage points from 97.7% last year, placing her in the 0.6 th percentile 2 of all directors elected at S&P 400 companies in 2024; James Neary, Director, who has served for nearly a decade and was initially appointed to represent Warburg Pincus, which has not held a position in WEX for three years, received only 67.0% support, a decline of 32.8 percentage points from 99.8% last year, placing him in the 0.8 th percentile 2 of directors elected at S&P 400 companies in 2024. Lauren Taylor Wolfe, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Impactive, stated: 'WEX's shareholders sent a clear message that they no longer have confidence in the current Board. As one of WEX's largest and most committed long-term investors, we want nothing more than to see the Company succeed. Unfortunately, the gap between WEX's intrinsic value and its stock price has continued to widen and the Company has shown no indication that it possesses a viable strategy for reversing this trend. In spite of our attempts over the past four years to work constructively to address the Company's valuation gap, the Board has repeatedly dismissed our efforts to strengthen shareholder alignment by adding an Impactive representative as a director. In our letter issued earlier this month, we disclosed our intention to vote against three directors after private engagement about strategic, value enhancing ideas and shareholder alignment were dismissed. The fact that each of these individuals saw their support from shareholders decline by more than 30 percentage points – without Impactive even soliciting proxies or taking any public action beyond our letter – is a direct indicator that investors share our disillusionment with the status quo. It is a particularly notable rebuke that Ms. Smith received only 64% support, given her position as the Company's CEO and Chairwoman charged with not only overseeing WEX's strategy, but also its engagement with shareholders. Impactive's preference is to engage privately and constructively. We have a successful track record of working collaboratively with boards, management teams and reasonable advisors to agree on beneficial solutions that are in the best interests of all stakeholders. However, it has become clear that WEX is not interested in good faith engagement. That is why we intend to nominate at least four directors for election at next year's annual meeting, barring a significant reversal of the Company's underperformance or approach to engagement in the coming months.' About Impactive Impactive Capital, LP is an active investment management firm based in New York. Impactive invests in high quality, attractively valued businesses and engages collaboratively with management teams and Boards to unlock shareholder value using capital allocation, operational and returns-linked ESG tools. Investing over a longer term, multi-year time horizon allows Impactive to think and invest like owners to drive long term sustainable returns for all shareholders. 1 Support calculated as 'For' votes divided by sum of For, Against, Abstain, and Broker Non-votes. 2 Percentile calculated based on the number of election results below the director divided by 2,943 director election results at S&P 400 companies in 2024.
Business Wire
21-05-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
WEX to Present at the William Blair 45th Annual Growth Stock Conference
PORTLAND, Maine--(BUSINESS WIRE)--WEX Inc. (NYSE: WEX), the global commerce platform that simplifies the business of running a business, today announced that its Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Melissa Smith, will present at the William Blair 45th Annual Growth Stock Conference on Wednesday, June 4, at approximately 4:20 PM ET. A webcast of the presentation will be available live on the Investor Relations section of the Company's website, or through the link here. For those unable to listen to the live webcast, an audio replay will also be available on the Company's website for up to 30 days. About WEX WEX (NYSE: WEX) is the global commerce platform that simplifies the business of running a business. WEX has created a powerful ecosystem that offers seamlessly embedded, personalized solutions for its customers around the world. Through its rich data and specialized expertise in simplifying benefits, reimagining mobility and paying and getting paid, WEX aims to make it easy for companies to overcome complexity and reach their full potential. For more information, please visit
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Yahoo
Road Warrior: Isleta Boulevard project to begin in fall; Beware of toll scam, NMDOT says
May 19—Happy Monday. People traveling down Isleta Boulevard could expect to see some work done in the coming months. Starting in the fall, phase one of the improvements project on Isleta will take place from Malpais to Luchetti SW and it will include new pavement and buffered bicycle lanes, landscaping and irrigation, and wider Americans with Disabilities Act sidewalks. The cost is about $11.5 million with $8 million coming from state coffers, $2.9 million from the federal government and the rest in county funds, Bernalillo County spokesperson Melissa Smith said in a news release. "This represents a substantial investment in the safety of our roadways and sidewalks," District 2 Commissioner Frank Baca said in a statement. "I would like to thank the state and federal governments for their contributions." Work is scheduled to take at least 18 months to complete, Smith said. I-25 REHABILITATION: Interstate 25 between Socorro and Truth or Consequences is getting a $15.9 million upgrade. On May 7, rehabilitation work began between mile markers 115 and 125 near San Antonio. The project is scheduled to be completed in 145 working days, New Mexico Department of Transportation District 1 spokeswoman Ami Evans said. Closures will take place between 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday. "Drivers can expect various daytime lane closures on both the northbound and southbound lanes as needed for milling and paving operations," she said. TOLL SCAM: NMDOT has issued a warning about a scam targeting people with fake toll road payment demands. "These scammers create a false sense of urgency by threatening license suspension or legal action to panic people into making these payments," NMDOT Secretary Ricky Serna said in a statement. "Remember, since New Mexico has no toll roads, any message claiming you owe toll fees in our state is 100% fraudulent." NMDOT suggests people do not click links in suspicious texts or emails and do not scan QR codes about toll payments, NMDOT spokesperson Kristine Bustos-Milhelcic said. EMS CRASHES: New Mexico had the third highest rate of fatal crashes involving emergency medical services personnel, 27.23 accidents per 100 EMS first responders in 2020, according to a recently published study by personal injury attorneys Foster Wallace. DANGEROUS LIGHTS: A Moriarty resident said they are concerned about two stop lights on N.M. 333, or Route 66, in Tijeras. When one of the lights turn green, drivers have to merge with traffic coming off the interstate causing people not to be able to "tell what lane they are in and they are coming too fast," they said. "The second light is also dangerous," they said. "Some people are supposed to yield, and sometimes they don't. I am so afraid of these lights that I try not to go to Albuquerque very often. "The whole section needs to be redone." Memorial Day weekend is coming up. First, a huge thank you to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. Second, if anyone is hitting the road or has a fun Memorial Day weekend road trip memory, email ghasman@
