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 Veteran
Posts: 246
 
Location: Idaho | We have a pasture (rented) by a state highway. Last fall one of our horses got out in the middle of the night. We have absolutely no idea how he got out. No other horses were out, no down fence, gate was padlocked. He ended up getting hit by a car. Killed the horse instantly, totalled the small suv, but the driver walked away without a scratch. It's a year later and now the driver's insurance company is now seeking payment for damages. Just curious if anyone else has been in a situation like this and has any advice. |
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 Take a Picture
Posts: 12841
  
| Laws vary so much from state to state it is impossible to say. Here in TX it varies from county to county depending if there is a fence law. Just my opinion, but one way to approach it is negligence on the part of the owner. Your horses would have to be out on a regular basis. If this was a one time thing then onwer may not be considered negligent. Hope you get it settled. |
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  Fact Checker
Posts: 16575
Location: Displaced Iowegian | From researching your state (Idaho?) it seems you live in a "fence out" state (open range) and are NOT liable unless you fall in a "herd district".
§ 25-2118. Animals on open range--No duty to keep from highway
No person owning, or controlling the possession of, any domestic animal running on open range, shall have the duty to keep such animal off any highway on such range, and shall not be liable for damage to any vehicle or for injury to any person riding therein, caused by a collision between the vehicle and the animal. “Open range” means all uninclosed lands outside of cities, villages and herd districts, upon which cattle by custom, license, lease, or permit, are grazed or permitted to roam.
eta: Why isn't your farm insurance fighting this?
Edited by NJJ 2015-10-18 3:21 PM
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Veteran
Posts: 246
Location: Idaho | We rent this pasture from the city. We didn't carry any farm insurance at the time. |
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Fact Checker
Posts: 16575
Location: Displaced Iowegian | TSlashO - 2015-10-18 3:29 PM We rent this pasture from the city. We didn't carry any farm insurance at the time.
From the reading of the statute, since the property is city owned, you may not fall under the "fence out". Does the city carry liability insurance on their properties ? |
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 Coyote Country Queen
Posts: 5666
| We've dealt with something similar, except cattle. We had a customer cow get out of a rented pasture and get hit by a car. After lengthy discussions with insurance I found out that if we owned the pasture or the cow we could have gotten insurance coverage. The owners of the cow weren't covered because they weren't providing the care for the cattle. Insurance is a mess! Either way, we are an open range state so we weren't liable, but we were hoping our insurance would be able to do something. Like was mentioned, if this happened on a regular basis I would expect you could be found at fault, but if your state has open range laws then it falls on the car owner's insurance, similar to hitting a deer, if I understand correctly. |
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Take a Picture
Posts: 12841
| Open range laws are for roads that run through ranches or federal lands where cows are just loose. Some counties in TX have open range laws and if you hit livestock, you are responsible for the livestock. The roads are actually an easement through private property. There are fences along highways that are not on private property. In our county, there is no open range law so even our little narrow road has to have fences or we are liable for loose stock. In 35 years my horses have been out three times. There is a guy down the road whose cows are always out one guy has been killed. My neighbor hit one of the guy's calves and no one has ever gotten a cent out of him. I would think it would be kind of hard for the insurance company to make any kind of case on this.
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