Car vs. Cow...Can i sue to get my deductible from the owner?

[asmiley]

Good Morning. Me and My wife we're recently involved in an automobile accident. She was taking me to work early one morning when we hit a dead cow that was lying in the road. It was VERY dark outside (it happened @ 4:45 a.m.). We we're being partially blinded by oncoming traffic so we weren't able to see the cow until it was too late. The damage to our car totaled around $2500.00. Whe were able to find out the owner of the cow through C.H.P. (California Highway Patrol). Apparently another vehicle had struck the cow about 5 minutes after we did and their vehicle received MAJOR damage along with driver injuries. Anyway when we filed the claim with our insurance company, explained to them what happened and gave them the Cow owners information, they contacted us a few days later to inform us that the owner had no insurance at all. They also informed us that the accident would be considered our fault. As you can tell we were extremly disappointed and angry. Our insurance deductible is $1000.00 and it has been a struggle for us to come up with. Were are basically running on 1 income (my wife is pregnant and unable to work at this time.). My question is can i take the Cow owner to court to try and collect the $1000.00 i had to pay for my deductible? I truly believe he is at fault. If he was able to keep his cow fenced up none of this would have happened. The cow owner told my insurance company, that was the only cow he owns and he bought it to slaughter. Thank you. Sorry for it being so long.

 

[army judge]

Yes, you can sue the dead cow's owner in small claims court.
Your case seems to be a solid one.
Collecting the judgment you might receive will be problematic.
You won't get money from the court, just an order, if you win.
Then you have to use the sheriff to help you collect the judgment.
It might end up with you trying to extract blood from a turnip.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Good luck!

 

[mightymoose]

If you sue the cow owner you will have to be prepared to show how the owner was negligent. Was the fencing adequate? were you in an area where fencing was required? Were there any warning signs advising of cattle or other animals? Just because it was his cow doesn't mean he will have to pay up.

You will be considered at fault for this accident and that will be in the cow owner's favor. Why would he be expected to pay when the accident is your fault?

What if it had been a large rock in the road? Who would be responsible then?
Still the driver.

You might get the best result trying to work something out civilly with the owner of the cow. I don't think you have a slam dunk if you go to court.

 

[jharris352]

Moose, while technically you are right I'm pretty sure when your cow gets out onto a road way there is strict liability in play. IE cow owner loses. You don't really have to prove the fencing wasn't adequate. Cow on road, not in pasture, ergo fencing inadequate.

 

[mightymoose]

I understand that, however the driver of a vehicle is responsible for operating it safely, and it is the driver's responsibility to drive at a safe speed and avoid whatever hazards are on the roadway. In this case, one must ask why the driver did not stop the car if there was a cow in the lane?
If the defense is that it was very dark outside, then it is safe to reason that the driver was going to fast for conditions.

 

[jedoe]

One can sue for almost anything. But, will that do you any good. Some cases will never make it to court.

 

[gueroooo]

hello i was recently in a car accident we were comin home my wife was drivin there was also another car next to us it was about 12 a.m it was dark there is no light in that road. we hit a cow the other car hit one too my wife is pregnant n my car is totaled we asked the state patrol if we could get any money from the cow owners n they said that maybe we could my wife was at risk of losin the baby she tried breaking but the car didnt stop we hit 2 cows n the state patrol said there was aboout 14 cows on the road so wat do you think would be the best thing to do? thank you

 

[mightymoose]

Best thing is to try your best to get your insurance to cover the loss. The driver is responsible, not the owner of the cow.
If it had been a child in the road would you sue the parents? What if it had been a big rock? Who then?
When it gets down to it, the driver is always responsible for the safe operation of the vehicle, and if the argument is that it was too dark and the driver couldn't react in time, then the answer is that the driver was going too fast for conditions.

 

[gueroooo]

we were goin speed limit which is 65 in that road n my question is that if it makes any difference cuz of the amount of cows that were out of the ranch i would understand that we could of evaded if it was only one cow but it wasnt it was 14 cows there was nothin to do the cows are black there is no way to see them at night! so wat does that mean if someone crashes into a cow and dies it was there fault and not the person who left maybe the door open !

 

[mightymoose]

The speed limit is not always a safe speed. You stated earlier that it was too dark and that was the reason you hit the cow. If the darkness made the road unsafe then speed should have been reduced, and there would have been more reaction time for anything in the roadway.
That is the way a police report would look at it... too fast for conditions/driver error.

That doesn't mean you can't bring a suit against the owner of the cows... but it will be a tough sell (in my opinion).