Who is liable for an auto/livestock accident on a highway involving 3 different vehicles and 3 different cows?
Question Details:
I was involved in an accident on my way to work early one morning (3am). I hit a bull and totalled my car. There were 2 other vehicles involved as they hit different cows as well, all within minutes of each other. I was unlucky number 2. Who is liable for this, the farmer or myself and the other drivers?
Any party who was negligent, or careless, can be liable. If more than one party is negligent, then the damages (or amount to pay, in the event of legal action) is apportioned between them. In a case like this, for example, you could be at fault (and so liable), if you were driving too fast for conditions, not using headlights, were too tired to drive, etc. The farmer could be a fault, if he had not secured his animals correctly, so that they wandered onto and blocked the road. Any other drivers who were driving carelessly could be at fault, too.
