I Hit A Cow While Driving, Can I Sue The Cattle Owner?

Drivers in California can face a number of road hazards that pose safety issues. The snow in the mountain, fog in San Francisco, and the rain rolling in off the Pacific Ocean can all create challenging road conditions. And anyone who has driven in the larger cities in the state, like Los Angeles, will confirm that the traffic is some of the worst in the United States. Massive numbers of vehicles, tiny streets in quaint parts of town that have never been widened, and the constant state of stress due to the traffic jams made California cities treacherous during rush hour and often well into the night.

But what shocks many who are not frequent drivers in the many rural areas of the state is that one of the most common and dangerous encounters these drivers face is a cow that has escaped its fencing or pasture and is in the roadway. While you might not understand it until you are sitting next to a large dairy cow in Fresno, Kern, or Merced, these beasts can weigh up to 1,500 pounds, or about half as much as the average compact car. And what makes them even worse to deal with is that they are very unpredictable. You never know when a cow that was standing still in the grass will charge into the roadway and become a massive obstacle.

If you or a loved one has recently been involved in a car accident with a cow in California, please know that you do not have to face the hardships and issues the incident created all on your own. The dedicated and skilled legal team at Normandie Law Firm is here to assist you. All you need to do is reach out to our office staff, who are available 24/7 to take your call. And we pledge that you will never call our office and be forced to leave a message and wait for someone to call you back. Instead, our pros will provide you with helpful information immediately. In addition, they will assist you in booking your free consultation with a Normandie Law Firm car accident attorney who will provide you with much more case-specific information.

Once you have related the facts of the case to your attorney and answered any additional questions they have, they will explain the legal merit of your case and whether you have grounds for a lawsuit. They can also provide more detail on the process of filing a lawsuit and answer other questions you might have about the matter. With this valuable information, you will be ready to begin making well-informed choices about the future and, if you wish, pursue legal action against the cattle owner. But please also know that you are never required to file a lawsuit, nor are you obligated to hire Normandie Law Firm if you later decide to take legal action related to this matter. Our only motivation is to ensure you have all the information and resources you need to make the best choices to meet your immediate and long-term needs.

All we ask is that you reach out to our staff swiftly, as there are time limits for you to take legal action. If you wait too long, no legal professional will have any way to help you seek the compensation that could have been yours.

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What Are The Legal Responsibilities Of Cattle Owners
After suffering losses and possible injuries because you hit a cow that was wandering around on a public roadway, you are sure to have many questions about who is responsible for that animal and all the livestock that live along the roadways in rural California. It is vital that you learn that California is not a free-range state. That means that all livestock, like cattle, goats, hogs, and sheep, must be contained. The owner of the cattle or other livestock is legally required to contain the animals and keep them off roads and away from traffic. They can use fencing, barns, or other structures, but they must contain the livestock. In addition, it is the obligation of the livestock owner to inspect and maintain the containment system to ensure the animals are not free to roam or wander into roads. If they fail to provide the vital care to contain the livestock, including cattle, they can be found negligent and held financially accountable for the harm caused by the wandering livestock.

When you reach out to Normandie Law Firm to discuss an incident in which you hit a cow, our staff will work diligently to investigate the property and the livestock owners to determine whether this is an ongoing issue, helping expedite your car accident with a cow injury lawsuit.

What You Need To Know About Comparative Negligence
As an accident victim, you might be confident that you are not to blame for a 1,500-pound cow wandering around on a roadway and causing your vehicle versus cow accident. However, you also need to understand that California is a comparative negligence state. That means that in any accident situation, the court can evaluate the incident and apply a portion of the blame for the incident to many parties. The court will consider all the factors that combined to create the incident and the damage that was the result of the incident. Then the blame and financial liability will be assigned accordingly.

For example, if the night you hit the cow was foggy, the court could find that even though you were not speeding, you were driving faster than was prudent for the weather conditions. As a result of that lack of good decision-making, the court could assign you 10% responsibility for the incident, stating that you might have seen the cow and been able to stop if you were moving at a lower speed. The remaining 90% of the responsibility for the incident would be given to the cattle owner who failed to contain the animal.

What that means for you is that you hold 10% of the financial responsibility for the incident. If your lawsuit were to cover your $10,000 in damage to your vehicle and other expenses, the cattle owner would only be forced to pay you $9,000, representing his 90% obligation and responsibility for the incident. It is common for livestock owners to try to influence the court to consider comparative negligence even when the driver was acting and driving in a responsible manner. It is vital that you reach out to Normandie Law Firm and discuss your case with a car accident attorney experienced in cow-related cases.

How Much Is The Average Car Accident Involving A Cow Lawsuit Worth?
All personal injury and car accident victims need to know that while there is always a mathematical average to a group of numbers, like lawsuit compensation amounts, in these cases, that average will have no impact on the amount you receive for your incident. Instead, each case is independently evaluated, and the actual losses and expenses incurred by the victim are used to calculate the compensation for the lawsuit. The court never relies on any predetermined amounts in these cases.

Working with your Normandie Law Firm legal team, you will gather all the documentation to confirm your allowable expenses to be used in this valuation process. The items that are most commonly used include, but are not strictly limited to:

• The repair or replacement cost of any personal property that was damaged or destroyed in the car accident with the cattle
• Your legal expenses related to preparing, filing, and litigating your car accident with a cow lawsuit
• All current and projected medical expenses related to diagnosing, treating, and rehabilitating the injuries sustained in the car accident with a cow, as well as any essential counseling or therapy to address the trauma and stress of the incident and injuries
• Your lost income if the harm you suffered in the car accident involving a cow prevented you from working at your regular job until you were fully healed and cleared by your medical care provider to return to the duties of your job.

How Long Do I Have To File My Car Accident With A Cow Lawsuit?
The common personal injury case allows the victim two years from the date of the incident to file their lawsuit with the court. If your car accident with a cow resulted in only property damage, then you will have three years from the date of the incident to file the case with the court. The major exception to these time limits is when the driver of the vehicle that hit the cow was a minor at the time of the incident. In this instance, the driver still has two or three years, respectively; however, the time does not begin until they reach the age of majority at 18.

It is critical to understand that these time limits are strictly enforced, and once they have expired, you no longer have the right to pursue legal action. In addition, there are minimal exceptions that would provide added time to take legal action once the original time limit has passed. So please reach out to Normandie Law Firm today to discuss your case and the time left for you to pursue legal action before it is too late to get any compensation owed to you.

No Added Stress Of Upfront Legal Fees
After being involved in a car accident with a cow that was roaming the roads in California, you are sure to be facing many financial challenges, as well as possible health issues and injuries that are keeping you from working. The last thing you need is a law firm that demands out of pocket fees to begin to resolve your car accident with a cow injury lawsuit. At Normandie Law Firm, we put the needs of our valued clients first in everything we do, and that includes our fee structure. You will be pleased to confirm with our staff that we never ask for any payments up front. Instead, we only get paid after the matter has been resolved and you have the compensation that includes funds to cover your legal fees and other expenses.

Finally, if your Normandie Law Firm car accident with a cow attorney fails to win your case and get you the money you need for your losses and expenses, you owe our firm nothing for its time and the investment made to prepare your lawsuit. Please get in touch with our caring and helpful office staff today to learn more about how we can help you secure the compensation that is owed to you from the negligent cattle owner and assist you in moving forward with your life by putting this upsetting incident behind you.

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Car Accident With A Cow Lawyer