Cow Pie Surprise

Q: This is why I hate farmers. I was riding along, minding my own business on my KTM 640, down roads that I know pretty well, and when I came round a bend, looking through the bend for my exit, I hit a slick of cow shit. I wasn't braking, but I was cranked over, and both wheels just completely lost it. Luckily, the bike's light and doesn't have a lot of plastic, so the bike got away pretty undamaged. I didn't get away so lightly, because I was hit by an oncoming car. The Police aren't prosecuting the other driver, because they said that the driver wasn't driving too fast, and I literally appeared round a blind bend, sliding down the road on my arse, and the car hit me, doing a lot of damage to my hip. It is doubtful whether or not I will ever walk normally again. I have spoken to a few Solicitors whose details I got off the internet, and they all tell me the same thing, namely that the accident was my fault and I should have looked where I was going. Is this true?

A: No. You do owe a duty to look after your own interests, but it is clear that whoever has been advising you has got no idea that a motorcyclist cannot spend his time staring at the road, and whilst from the small amount of details you have given me it appears right that the other driver isn't to blame for the accident and in these particular circumstances (he or she could have done nothing to avoid you sliding across the road) the farmer who left cow shit all over the road is liable. In your more detailed letter you tell me that the Police who arrived at the scene confirmed that there was cow shit all over the road leading from one field to another. The law on this point is pretty straightforward. If you know who has put material on the highway which is likely to cause a danger to other road users, then they are liable. It doesn't matter if they didn't think about motorbikes, pedal cyclists, horse riders or anyone else, so long as you were reasonably using the road (which you clearly were) then the farmer is liable to you. I expect that he will be insured by one of the big agricultural insurers, who I can guarantee will make a fight of it. What you need is an aggressive Solicitor who knows his way around motorbike claims rather than just some muppet you picked off the internet. These cases are not easy, they do require a fair amount of home work and my experience of these cases is that witnesses who live in the local area are not very keen to 'dob the local farmer in' but the Police have already said in the report that you came off on cow shit, and you should make it your business to travel along that road, or get a friend to travel along that road as often as possible with a camera to take photographs of where the cow shit starts, and where it finishes. Good Luck!

Dirty Droppings

Q: I was riding my Blade out on a warm summers evening when I came round what was a blind bend at a fairly decent speed, nothing too fast and I was well under control, when my bike shot out from underneath me. I had no real idea what had happened until I stopped rolling, touched my leathers and I was covered from shoulder to hip in cow shit. There was a decent pile of cow shit in the middle of the highway, probably about 2 inches deep in its thickest, but it was not in an area were it has been trodden in, so I can only assume that a farmer driving a tractor driving a trailer load of cow shit dropped cow shit all over the highway. I did myself some quite serious hip injuries, and as a serving soldier this may have an effect on my ability to carry on my role as an infantryman.

I have spoken to a few Solicitors and they all tell me that there is nothing that can be done, are they right?

A: Probably not. I think you can do something about this. If the road in question is one where cattle are not regularly driven over there are only a limited amount of ways by which cow shit can come onto the highway. It has either been dropped there by an individual, and it is pretty unlikely that somebody has taken the trouble to carry it out by hand and drop it in the middle of the highway, or what is much more likely is that it has been dropped by a road going vehicle which means that the Motor Insurers Bureau are obliged to pay for your personal injury arising from this.

If you find yourself in this situation do everything you can to get evidence of the state of the road at the time of the accident. This means taking photographs and making sure you have got witness statements who can prove that there was cow shit all over the highway, which caused you to fall off. The MIB will investigate whether or not it is more likely than not that the cow shit came from a road going vehicle.

Expect a fight on your hands, and you will probably need legal help. These cases are far from easy.

Andrew Dalton

Don't be someone else's learning curve. Call our 24 hour help hotline on 0800 783 6191 for clear, expert legal help or e-mail us at contact@whitedalton.co.uk

Print Page  |    |   Top of Page  |   Bookmark