Legal Question in Personal Injury in California

Re: car vs cow

Your message is a bit vague. You say your husband was driving on "their" property but you don't say who "they" are. Are "they" the city or the farmers? I initially thought you meant the city, but your statement that the city owns the road suggests that it doesn't own the property.

You also don't say how the cow "got spooked", which is a rather important detail. If the cow was frightened by something improper your husband did then he may indeed be at fault.

Can the farmer sue? Of course. Your second question, "can he win?", is hard to answer because of the ambiguities I listed above. If the accident was your husband's fault, then the farmer can win. If it wasn't, then he can't -- and your husband should be able to recover the costs of repairing the car from the farmer.

Then there is the question of how much the farmer would be entitled to recover if he does win. Was the cow killed by the impact? Was the farmer able to butcher it and recover some of its value? Also, how was the cow able to get into the road in the first place? If the farmer negligently failed to restrain the cow then he is partially at fault and will have to absorb part of the loss himself.

Your husband should call his insurer asap to discuss the situation -- both to see whether the insurance will pay to repair his car and whether it will defend him if the farmer sues.

Re: car vs cow

I agree with Mr. Hoffman. Also, another question is whether or not the farmer knew that his cows would stray onto the road. Perhaps there are some local ordinances that address fencing etc. The short answer is that "anyone can sue anyone at anytime!" The real question is who was negligent, and without more facts, it's tough to tell.

Sincerely,

Rob Mansour

MansourLaw.com