Motorbike accident claim caused by an animal

It can easily happen – an animal runs out in to the road or lingers on a highway having escaped from somewhere, and causes an accident. It’s unfortunate and can often lead to the death of the animal; but in this blog, we’re looking at the impact on the rider.

Unless you hit a deer or a cow or something of that size in a car, you’re likely to escape without any injuries. Hitting even a small dog on a motorbike can lead to the rider coming off the bike and being seriously injured, so it’s a problem that’s often worse for riders.

If you do happen to suffer a motorbike accident caused by an animal then what can be done in terms of claiming for compensation?

Claiming for personal injury compensation is important because the process is designed to allow a victim to recover damages to reflect their suffering and loss. An injured rider could end up debilitated for life and may lose long term earnings because of an injury.

Pursuing an insured driver who is at fault for an accident is one thing – pursuing an animal? Well, it can’t really be done of course. However, there are ways in which a person can still claim, so read on for more information.

When can you claim for an animal injury?

In any case for compensation, you will normally face the following hurdles:

The negligence will likely come down to the owner or those responsible for the animal. If an owner has negligently let a dog loose from their home and it bolts across a street and causes an accident, you can argue there is responsibility on the owner. Pursuing a claim against a person directly isn’t an easy thing to do as they probably don’t have the cash lying around to pay for your injuries, losses and legal fees; but if the person or the animal is insured, and the insurance covers negligence of this nature, you may have a way of claiming.

Animals are animals, so it has to come down to whether there is proof that the owner has not taken reasonable care to avoid their animal causing harm to someone. Being able to claim can then come down to insurance or assets.

A more likely scenario is when a biker is injured by a farm animal.

If the farm animal has escaped because of a broken fence or a dodgy gate, you may have a person (i.e. the farmer) responsible for potential negligence, and you probably have an insurer; i.e. the farmer’s insurance.

You still have to prove negligence – if a gate is left open by a farm employee, that’s potential negligence that can fall on the farmer and therefore the farmer’s insurance. If a fence is smashed by criminals and the farmer hasn’t been made away before the animals escape, you may find it hard to prove negligence.

What more could the farmer have done?

When can you not claim for an animal injury?

Any wild animal causing an injury is probably just going to have to be chalked down as bad luck. If the injury is caused and there is no negligence, an owner can viably defend a claim.

The burden of proof when it comes to demonstrating negligence has taken place is on the claimant.

What to do?

Contact us for advice and we can guide you and let you know if yours is a case we feel we can fight on a No Win, No Fee basis. If we think there is a case to answer for in terms of negligence, and if we think there is a good route to be able to settle a financial claim, give us a call and we will see if we can help you out.