Paralysed jockey awarded $370,000

One of New Zealand’s top racehorse trainers has been fined and ordered to pay more than $370,000 in reparation after an aspiring young jockey was left a tetraplegic.

In 2016, Sophia Malthus was left paralysed after the then 19-year-old came off a horse at one of Stephen McKee’s stables near Ardmore in Auckland.

The trainer, with 31 years of experience, pleaded guilty earlier this year to one charge of exposing a person to risk of serious harm or death after a WorkSafe NZ investigation.

Yesterday afternoon he was sentenced in the Auckland District Court by Judge Noel Sainsbury.

At the time of the accident Malthus, now in her early 20s, was employed by McKee as a stablehand but had dreams of being an apprentice jockey and racing thoroughbreds.

While she had a little riding experience, Malthus had never ridden a thoroughbred working racehorse before the day of the accident.

The horse, a three-year-old thoroughbred whose name is suppressed, was regarded as well mannered and didn’t have a tendency to bolt, spit or rear, the court heard. But as Malthus took the horse around the training track, she lost control.

“Unfortunately this led to panic,” Judge Sainsbury said. “An inexperienced rider reacting to the horse only made things worse.”

Malthus broke the C5 vertebrae in her spine — she would never walk again. The accident has left her with almost no sensation from the collarbone down and she requires constant care while living with her parents.

The WorkSafe investigation concluded McKee knew or should have known of the hazards and risks the young rider faced on his horse and track.

Through his lawyer, Paul Wicks, QC, McKee extended his “deepest sympathies” and could only describe what happened as “tragic”.

The judge said McKee’s record until the accident had been “impeccable”. “It’s a tragedy for everyone, I understand that.” But the consequences of the accident for Malthus were “catastrophic”, he said.

“She has lost almost all movement,” he added. “And her independence has been taken from her.

“This is a 19-year-old young woman who finds herself facing a very difficult future.”

Judge Sainsbury ordered $110,000 for emotional harm damage as well as $262,000 in consequential loss reparation, largely due to Malthus’ inability to work. But he said it was “deeply insulting” for someone who was injured while on the minimum wage to have compensation measured as if they would have remained on minimum wage for the rest of their life.

McKee was also fined $30,000 and ordered to pay court costs of $3000.