Free Range Cattle Caused a Truck Accident

[AverageCitizen]

My question involves an injury that occurred in the: Great State of Texas

I drive a tractor trailer (18 wheeler) for a living. I hit two cows that were on a Texas State Highway. The county in which the accident occured does not allow free range cattle, and even if it did, state law prohibits cattle from being on a State of U.S. Highway. As a result of hitting the two cows, the truck that I was driving left the roadway and crashed into a ditch. I know who the cattle owner is, and I know how the cattle came to be at large. The cattle owner used a chain and clip such as the one seen below on another of his gates, which failed to keep the cattle contained. See the actual broken clip in the other picture.

As I understand it, Texas law allows me to recover damages only if the livestock owner was aware that the cattle were at large, -OR- they were habitually at large -OR- the livestock owner was negligent in his attemtps to contain his livestock.

I may be a bit biased here, but I find it neither reasonable nor prudent to assume that the chain or clip is sufficent to contain a herd of cattle.

I was injured as a result of this accident and was off of work for 8 weeks. I want seek a small claims judgement for lost wages only in the sum of about $9500.00. I am not interested in any other damages.

Before I go and try to sell that to a Justice of the Peace in small claims court, I was curious to see if I was the only one that thought that it was not reasonable nor prudent to assume that the chain or clip is sufficent to contain a herd of cattle.

Any other opinions, thoughts or facts are welcome as well. Thanks!

[jk]

well, cattle don't tend to be real rowdy critters so anything that would keep the gate closed might be seen as reasonable. Personally, I don't have a problem accepting both the chain and the clip as reasonable but I don't raise cattle for a living either. You might ask a few cattle ranchers their opinion of the equipment. That would speak louder in court than anything a non-rancher would say.

[AverageCitizen]

Rowdy no, but they do use anything to scratch themselves on. They are big and strong. Chain and clip, not so much.

Note: These were NOT free range cattle. These were cattle that were astray. Not sure who changed the title of the thread, but the distinction of "free range" implies that they were lawfully at large.

[jk]

maybe they meant: freely ranging cattle who knows


that is why I suggested asking cattle ranchers what they think. If they say it is a reasonable constraint, it's a reasonable constraint. The law doesn't require 100% guaranteed but merely reasonable.

question: did the latch break, left unlatched, rancher claims cows unlatched it, or totally unknown how they got beyond the latch? You simply stated it failed to contain them.

[AverageCitizen]

the clip was broke and laying on the ground at the open gate

[jk]

u need a person familiar with the raising of cattle to tell you if that is a reasonable constraint or not. My opinion nor yours (unless you raise cattle) will mean squat in court because we do not raise cattle and have no way to determine what is reasonable. The court will accept the opinion of a cattle rancher (the guy whose cattle you hit) over yours because he is qualified to state whether it is a reasonable constraint or not. You need to be able to counter his statement.