Although this seems quite humorous at first, having a road traffic accident involving a cow can be extremely serious! After all, they are pretty big (and sturdy) animals!
However, they can be very difficult claims as to be able to successfully claim compensation you have to prove that someone has been negligent in allowing the animals to escape onto the public highway, for example. Therefore, if the animal is wild it is going to be extremely difficult as, to be honest, you will face significant difficulties in suing a cow!
So, say the animal does have an owner, which given it’s a cow we shall safely assume it does, you still have to prove that the owner was negligent. Therefore, you would need to establish that the farmer had not taken reasonable steps to make sure the animal does not escape. For example: not locked a gate properly. However, this can become difficult if the farmer has been victim to vandalism as this would be out of their control and therefore they may have been considered to take all steps necessary such as having appropriate fencing and unfortunately a third party has come and destroyed this. If an employee of the farmer was negligent, the farmer can still be vicariously liable.
The law is quite a grey area but there has been case law to suggest that farmers are expected to have a high duty of care to ensure wildlife is not able to cause danger to the general public.
In Donaldson v Wilson, the farmer was held liable even though at first it appeared he had taken reasonable steps as he could prove that his son checked on the cows regularly. This therefore shows the high duty expected of the farmers.
Of course, finding out who owns the cow can also be difficult and therefore this is another hurdle that needs to be jumped.
Injuries caused by straying cattle can be serious, as a car versus a cow is a tough battle! In past cases people have suffered from terrible brain injuries from the impact and also a lot of losses due to cars being written off and medical expenses for such terrible injuries.
Therefore, if you have been involved in a car accident due to a cow on the loose, it is best to speak with us so that we can assess your individual circumstance and ensure we give you the best advise possible. Our specialist team of personal injury experts will be able to talk through the whole process and even can arrange for private medical care to get you on the road to recovery ASAP
