SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) – A lively debate on a local town’s Facebook page caught our attention this week. The question…”My neighbors were driving and hit a cow in the middle of the road. They were told that the owner of the cow was not responsible for the damage to the car. Is that true?”

You can find headlines across the country for accidents involving cars and trucks hitting cows. Accidents can cause thousands of dollars in damage to vehicles and injury and even death to drivers.

An article published by University of Missouri Extension states that the burden of proof in cases where animals leave an enclosure and cause an accident is now on the person injured or injured by the animals. In other words, the article states that the driver must prove that the owner of the animal is negligent.

However, local attorney David Payne would have many questions about the individual facts in any case before making a statement of liability.

“Was the owner who owned that cow … taking reasonable steps to keep the cow corralled?” Attorney Payne asked. “Generally, in Missouri, if a landowner is reasonable in their efforts, they maintain their fences, tend their cattle, lock gates, fix water holes, and if landowners take reasonable care, but still, a cow. it turns out then, to a large extent, in Missouri, that landowner is not responsible.”

Here’s Payne’s advice if you bump into a cow. If you have been injured on a public road, call 9-1-1 and law enforcement first. File a police report. Then call your company. of insurance. And if you are the driver or the landowner, you may want to contact your attorney.

So who’s on the hook when a cow is hit on a public road?

“It depends,” Payne said. “As long as the landowner has acted in reasonable and prudent ways in the circumstances, they will largely be protected from liability. (Paul) But what is reasonable? (David) It is a specific fact.”

Each state will have different rules regarding liability in cases like these. We covered Missouri law. The advice remains the same in every state. Call 911 if you are injured. Also call your insurance company. Consider hiring an attorney.

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