Hit animal, what to do?

L_Bonn

I had a crash with a farm dog that darted out in front of me. Found owner and he said to get a quote for damage to car. What is the law on this?
Also if I have to claim it on my own insurance, if the farmer is liable, will the insurers still chase him for the costs?

Cookie_Monster

Farmer is liable as its his responsibility to keep dog under control, which clearly he has failed to do.

Best bet is to contact you insurance company and explain, they should be able to advise and it means if he decides not to pay they are already aware of it.

stevenmu

You could be lucky that it was a farmer's dog, I believe farmers tend to have insurance to cover this kind of thing whereas a normal dog owner would not. If you claim from your own insurance, it's basically up to them if they want to chase the farmer or not. I'd suggest to get some quotes for the repairs and give them to the farmer like he suggested, he seems willing to sort out. (but keep records of damage, quotes, correspondance etc just in case)

L_Bonn

He doesnt have farm insurance unfortunately. My car is a new C Class mercedes and the damage although minor will surely be a few thousand to put right. The farmer is highly unlikely to be able to pay this to be honest.

kildare.17hmr

Tell your insurance company then get the quote for the farmer and go from there.

cormie

How's the dog?

L_Bonn

Dead

Anan1

OP - Have you spoken to your insurance company about this? That's probably the best place to start.

whyulittle

cormie wrote: »

How's the dog?

L_Bonn wrote: »

Dead

I honestly thought the thread was going to be about how to 'finish off' a hit animal.

ToxicPaddy

I hit a dog a few years back, similar circumstances, the dog bolted out in front of me and unfortunately I killed it on the spot.. not a lot I could do to be honest but it did a fair bit of damage to the car..

I contacted the local garda station to see if anyone had reported a missing dog as the dog had no collar but looked to be well kept..

The Garda I spoke to informed me that they would ask around and that the owner of the dog would be responsible for paying for the damage if they managed to track them down and advised to me to get a quote for the damage and to inform my insurance company in case.

Never found the owner, so had to pay for it myself..

Jimmy Bottlehead

Interesting regarding the insurance situation... and shame about the dog.

I'm dreading hitting an animal, seems to be one of those inevitable things. And it doesn't help that a good few years ago, I was in the car with my mother (this was before I was on the road) and we seen a dog in the middle of the road who had been hit by a car. Bad enough, but the poor thing was still alive, but with it's guts trailing right across the road.

Heartbreaking, and something that's never ever left me since.

Sorry to hear it OP, both for yourself and the dog.

MetzgerMeister

Jimmy Bottlehead wrote: »

we came on a dog in the middle of the road who had been hit by a car.

:eek::eek::eek::eek:

pajo1981

Jimmy Bottlehead wrote: »

Interesting regarding the insurance situation... and shame about the dog.

I'm dreading hitting an animal, seems to be one of those inevitable things. And it doesn't help that a good few years ago, I was in the car with my mother (this was before I was on the road) and we seen a dog in the middle of the road who had been hit by a car. Bad enough, but the poor thing was still alive, but with it's guts trailing right across the road.

Heartbreaking, and something that's never ever left me since.

Sorry to hear it OP, both for yourself and the dog.

What a disturbing story....

Nexus

i really dont know how people can drive off after hitting an animal.

Recently i came across a dog that was hit in the middle of the road. i could see his tail wagging and people driving by him. i pulled in a small bit up the road and ran back. I managed to get to him before another car hit him again and picked him up and moved him to the side of the road. A lady has also stopped, she happened to be a vet. She had a look at him and he passed away there and then. It was one of the worst things ive ever seen. ill never forget it.

corktina

it is always distressing to some degree whatever you hit. I hit a Labrador in a 5 tonne truck (me not him...) killed him (almost) outright and did a fair bit of damage to the truck including bending the front suspension...called to farm-house and the owner went for his shotgun but I think the dog was dead before I got back to him. It never occured to me or my employer to claim for the damage!

dr.fuzzenstein

Nexus wrote: »

i really dont know how people can drive off after hitting an animal.

Recently i came across a dog that was hit in the middle of the road. i could see his tail wagging and people driving by him. i pulled in a small bit up the road and ran back. I managed to get to him before another car hit him again and picked him up and moved him to the side of the road. A lady has also stopped, she happened to be a vet. She had a look at him and he passed away there and then. It was one of the worst things ive ever seen. ill never forget it.

Good man (woman?) yourself!
Top of the class, there's one person who displays a bit of compassion compared to the otherwise appaling attitude of the Irish towards animals that makes the Chinese look like St Francis of Assisi.

Nexus

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

Good man (woman?) yourself!
Top of the class, there's one person who displays a bit of compassion compared to the otherwise appaling attitude of the Irish towards animals that makes the Chinese look like St Francis of Assisi.

Man. I have a dog and i would hate to see anything happen to him. In my family dogs are treated like one of the family. Even if you dont like Dogs/animals i dont see how any one could just leave them on the side of the road to suffer and die.

mathepac

kildare.17hmr wrote: »

Tell your insurance company then get the quote for the farmer and go from there.

Hopefully OP got enough details from the farmer to be able to sustain a claim via his own vehicle's insurers.

Is there a case for broadening the scope of the MIBI's remit?

Anan1

corktina wrote: »

It never occured to me or my employer to claim for the damage!

+1. I'm not going to claim it's rational, but I wouldn't dream of taking money from the person whose pet i'd just killed. Just to be clear, this isn't in any way a dig at the OP - they're perfectly within their rights to claim, it just wouldn't be right for me.

Tipp Man

Has the farmer said whether or not he will pay? If he asked you to get a quote then he must have intentions of paying

mikemac

Farmers have public liability insurance for this reason.

You say he doesn't have this OP?

That's a big risk on his part! Covers lot of things like visitors to the farm and livestock on the road.

Sure with FBD, these things are very affordable. There are other companies, just FBD are well known by farmers

I'm getting offtopic anyway

L_Bonn

He said to get a garage quote and we will see what we can do. These guys think 500 will buy a whole car never mind fix a small bit of damage. Many small farmers here dont have this insurance although it is madness not to.

L_Bonn

mathepac wrote: »

Hopefully OP got enough details from the farmer to be able to sustain a claim via his own vehicle's insurers.

From my insurer- Why would I not be able to claim. Under what circumstances would a claim on my own insurance not be valid in this case?

Anan1

L_Bonn wrote: »

From my insurer- Why would I not be able to claim. Under what circumstances would a claim on my own insurance not be valid in this case?

I can't think of any myself.

djimi

Anan1 wrote: »

+1. I'm not going to claim it's rational, but I wouldn't dream of taking money from the person whose pet i'd just killed. Just to be clear, this isn't in any way a dig at the OP - they're perfectly within their rights to claim, it just wouldn't be right for me.

Depends on the circumstances I suppose. If I ended up mangling the front of my car because someone was too stupid to close their front gate to keep their dog in then Id not be in the slightest bit impressed. Dogs do not belong on roads. If their owners cannot keep them under control then they should face the consequences (the owners I mean; its not the dogs fault that their owner is irresponsible). Id feel bad about killing their pet but Id feel an awful lot worse about being several hundred quid out of pocket for something that was not my fault...

mathepac

L_Bonn wrote: »

From my insurer- Why would I not be able to claim. Under what circumstances would a claim on my own insurance not be valid in this case?

I never suggested you would'n't be able to claim from your own (presumably comprehensive) insurance or that such a claim would not be valid.

Where I have dome this in the past it was always as an interim expedient step on the understanding that 3rd party would be pursued for all the relevant costs, including uninsured costs for example, loss of NCB.

Theanswers

djimi wrote: »

Depends on the circumstances I suppose. If I ended up mangling the front of my car because someone was too stupid to close their front gate to keep their dog in then Id not be in the slightest bit impressed. Dogs do not belong on roads. If their owners cannot keep them under control then they should face the consequences (the owners I mean; its not the dogs fault that their owner is irresponsible). Id feel bad about killing their pet but Id feel an awful lot worse about being several hundred quid out of pocket for something that was not my fault...

Dogs are quite smart,
It wouldnt take a dog to long to get around a shut gate are you suggesting the dog should be tied 24/7 hardly a good life for any animal.
From my personal experience dogs are generally quite watchful of cars.

To the OP you just killed this mans pet /working dog or possibly both. You should NOT be claiming even though you are within you rights to do so.
A dog is much more than just a animal, it is your compainion for usually 10 or more years.
My advice stick it up, possibly if you had been driving slower you would not have hit the dog? What if it had be a child as everyone often says?
Slow down and leave that man alone....

Thats my 2 cents.

johnos1984

Out of interest what is Boards.ie stated position on a mercy kill.

I've hit a number of animals before, never a dog, and rather than prolong the suffering I have put the car in reverse and 'helped' them on their way.

I've never liked the idea of prolonging the suffering until a vet puts them down. I come from a farming background so I know a fooked animal when I see one and would rather put it out of its pain than let it suffer.

Jimmy Bottlehead

Theanswers wrote: »

Dogs are quite smart,
It wouldnt take a dog to long to get around a shut gate are you suggesting the dog should be tied 24/7 hardly a good life for any animal.
From my personal experience dogs are generally quite watchful of cars.

To the OP you just killed this mans pet /working dog or possibly both. You should NOT be claiming even though you are within you rights to do so.
A dog is much more than just a animal, it is your compainion for usually 10 or more years.
My advice stick it up, possibly if you had been driving slower you would not have hit the dog? What if it had be a child as everyone often says?
Slow down and leave that man alone....

Thats my 2 cents.

In fairness, and I'm an animal lover, but that post is daft. I've had two dogs and both are stupid when it comes to cars.

The farmer's responsibility was to keep his dog away from roads, and if not, to suffer the consequences (never mind the poor dog). If he can't do that, then why should someone else suffer the damage and cost?

And in this case, it was a dog and not a child.

DonJose

ToxicPaddy wrote: »

I hit a dog a few years back, similar circumstances, the dog bolted out in front of me and unfortunately I killed it on the spot.. not a lot I could do to be honest but it did a fair bit of damage to the car..

I contacted the local garda station to see if anyone had reported a missing dog as the dog had no collar but looked to be well kept..

The Garda I spoke to informed me that they would ask around and that the owner of the dog would be responsible for paying for the damage if they managed to track them down and advised to me to get a quote for the damage and to inform my insurance company in case.

Never found the owner, so had to pay for it myself..

MIBI will payout in the case of an uninsured driver, would they not payout in the case of an untracable dog?

DonJose

mathepac wrote: »

Hopefully OP got enough details from the farmer to be able to sustain a claim via his own vehicle's insurers.

Is there a case for broadening the scope of the MIBI's remit?

Didn't read your post before posting the above, but I fully agree with your point.

Theanswers

Jimmy Bottlehead wrote: »

In fairness, and I'm an animal lover, but that post is daft. I've had two dogs and both are stupid when it comes to cars.

The farmer's responsibility was to keep his dog away from roads, and if not, to suffer the consequences (never mind the poor dog). If he can't do that, then why should someone else suffer the damage and cost?

And in this case, it was a dog and not a child.

That someone else should not have hit the dog, I know if it where me I feel quite bad but would not be looking for compensation off the owner either through insurance or replacment parts for the car out of his own pocket.

i would see myself at fault for hitting the dog.

One should always be prepared for the unexpected!
Thats my view anyway.

Ryan T

You may be in the right legally to make a claim but still don't think I could do it.

That said its up to you op !!

L_Bonn

This dog was far from watchful of traffic. Ran straight across the road towards house as if chasing something. Didnt stop or turn or anything. Its as if he thought he could run through the car. Speed was not the problem, I was doing maybe 75km/hr straight good road. It just came straight across and there was nowhere to go, I swerved and still just caught the corner of the car with some of the car on the grass. very little speed knocked off as last second swerve was only option.
I have zero sympathy for the owner. He has a farm, he has a herd of cattle in roadside field, he should have farm insurance. If one of his cows got out onto a dark road, a driver would most likely be killed. Where would he be then?
If there was another car coming in opposite direction, there could have been a major accident.
I WILL be going to him with garage quote and informing him that he either pays me for the repair or I will claim from my insurers and that they will possibly seek to recover costs from him which will no doubt work out more expensive.

When you pay alot of money for a new car, it changes your attitude on these things. When this guy decided against farm insurance, he decided he could handle the risk!

L_Bonn

For those who say you should be ready for unexpected etc thats all well and good but if Id been on a bicycle, I doubt I would have avoided this one. The general rule is to drive so that you can stop within the distance you see to be clear. That doesnt account for suicidal dogs.

Ryan T

Is a dog covered by farm insurance ?

djimi

Theanswers wrote: »

Dogs are quite smart,
It wouldnt take a dog to long to get around a shut gate are you suggesting the dog should be tied 24/7 hardly a good life for any animal.
From my personal experience dogs are generally quite watchful of cars.

To the OP you just killed this mans pet /working dog or possibly both. You should NOT be claiming even though you are within you rights to do so.
A dog is much more than just a animal, it is your compainion for usually 10 or more years.
My advice stick it up, possibly if you had been driving slower you would not have hit the dog? What if it had be a child as everyone often says?
Slow down and leave that man alone....

Thats my 2 cents.

Dogs are not watchful of cars. I live in the country; Ive lost count of how many times I have narrowly missed dogs who bolt out of gateways. Dogs chase cars. Dogs run out of gates straight onto roads. Some dogs may have a sense of the danger of the road; the majority do not from my experience.

No Im not suggesting that dogs should be tied up all the time, but quite often if owners took more care to ensure that their dog couldnt get onto the road then less dogs would end up getting hit by cars. Obviously its not always possible to be 100% secure, but part of the responsibility of owning a dog is ensuring that it cannot run loose around the road. Too many times Ive seen dog owners not even bother to close their front gate in an attempt to keep the dog in the garden.

Speed doesnt even come into it. At 15mph it would be possible not to see a dog bolt from a gate until its too late. A dog can move a hell of a lot faster than a child can.

So what if its someones pet/working dog? The fact of the matter is there could be potentially hundred of Euros worth of damage to the car. Why should a motorist foot the bill for it? The dog should not have been on the road in the first place; it was the responsibility of its owner to ensure that it was not on the road and the owner failed in that responsibility. Why shouldnt the dogs owner be responsible for the damage to the car?

L_Bonn

Try thousands of euro damage. New cars tend to go in bits very easily. Had this accident happened in a 1990s E Class for example, I would probably be ordering a new number plate as that would be the extent of the damage Id say. Tbh, if it was a 600/700 I would get a couple of hundred off the farmer and forget about it but its way more than that.

Jimmy Bottlehead

Theanswers wrote: »

That someone else should not have hit the dog, I know if it where me I feel quite bad but would not be looking for compensation off the owner either through insurance or replacment parts for the car out of his own pocket.

i would see myself at fault for hitting the dog.

One should always be prepared for the unexpected!
Thats my view anyway.

djimi has covered it better than I could above, but fact is, a couple hundred euro could be taken on as a loss, but quite honestly not thousands... if someone decided to drive full tilt into one of the farmers cows to see what would happen, you can bet your arse that the farmer wouldn't hesitate to sue.

L_Bonn

L_Bonn wrote: »

If there was another car coming in opposite direction, there could have been a major accident.

As the saying goes "hit a dog before a ditch"

Run_to_da_hills

L_Bonn wrote: »

Dead

:mad:

Esel

Theanswers wrote: »

i would see myself at fault for hitting the dog.

One should always be prepared for the unexpected!

Sorry, but those statements are facile and simplistic. You cannot prepare for a previously unseen dog (or sheep, or even a human being) running full tilt into your immediate path if you are too close to the probable point of impact to either stop or safely avoid them.

It is certainly sad when a dog is killed in this way, but the hard fact is - better that the dog be killed or injured rather than you, your passenger(s), or other innocent persons in the vicinity.

Interestingly, afaik, you are obliged to report an impact with a dog to the Gardaí - so that the owner can be prosecuted if the dog was not under effective control at the time. Not so for a cat, apparently. I'm unsure about farm animals loose on a public road, but I would think it's probable/possible that the owner would be liable?

I would always stop, though, and check the animal. Adrenalin can sometimes allow even a mortally wounded animal to run some distance, so that you might think it was not seriously injured. In many years of driving, I have only killed one cat, and a couple of unlucky rats. I stopped once in the wilds of Clare at night for a badly injured badger, and put it out of its misery. (not by driving over it, btw, but - don't ask).

x in the city

Sad aul story but the op should of course claim from the farmers neglence, post up pics?

everyone knows that even minimal damage on a merc can run into a grand or 2 easily, so its not the op's fault.

having said that we owned a king charles spaniel and he was one of our own, he ran across the road (to yelp at cows :rolleyes:) when he was a pup and my brother ran after he and spanked him, never again did he go onto the road..

we live in the country, and he died at 13 years and had a content and good life.

RIP to the dog also in this post.

David09

It's definitely the farmer's liability.
I hit a horse once with an old ford fiesta. The car worth very little before the accident, but it was my means of transport. It was extensively damaged and the "farmer" who owned the horse refused to pay up. The low value of the car meant it wasn't worth the hassle of persuing through the courts as it would have been a mountain of grief, costs and fees to get satisfaction. I ended up having to fork out for my car myself and was at the loss of transport in the meantime.

testicle

Reverse?

Anan1

testicle wrote: »

Reverse?

Please don't post nonsense.