You may be able to sue a farmer if you hit his cow with your car. If the farmer is liable (legally responsible), you can file a lawsuit seeking compensation for pain and suffering, medical expenses, lost wages and other damages.
Has Your Law Firm Won Cases Where Hitting a Cow Caused Severe Injury?
Yes, our law firm represented a woman was severely injured when her car hit a cow on a state freeway. She was completely paralyzed (complete spinal cord injury) from the waist down and partially paralyzed (incomplete spinal cord injury) in her upper extremities. We helped our client sue the owner of the cow, a dairy owner, for compensation. Dairy farmers carry insurance that covers these kinds of incidents.
These cases are similar to cases where a dog runs in front of a bicycle and injures the bicyclist. The owner of the dog is legally responsible. In these cases, settlement payouts are generally made by the animal owner’s homeowner’s insurance company.
What generally happens with these cases is that “discovery” (a legal term) is done to find out who owns the cow, if there is insurance and how much is available from the policy. In addition, evidence is gathered to help prove what happened and why. When necessary, we hire accident reconstruction specialists.
What if the Dairy Farmer Was Extremely Careless?
If the dairy farmer was extremely careless (referred to in the law as “gross negligence”), there may be a punitive damages claim, which is used to get enough money to “punish” bad behavior. An example of gross negligence would be a cow having a history of wandering off and the owner not doing anything to prevent it.