Woman claims after cattle accident

A woman has received £4,000 in a successful accident claim which left her suffering from personal injuries after the car she was driving was hit by a runaway cow.

The woman was driving in the Midlands when the accident occurred. A stray cow suddenly appeared on the road as she turned a sharp bend. She contacted personal injury lawyers who helped her make a no win no fee claim.

The injured woman, who worked as a self-employed beautician, spoke to a legal team and stated that she had been forced to take four weeks off work after she sustained whiplash injuries in the crash.

Subsequently she lost a large sum of income during that period she took off.

On the day of the motor accident, the woman said she was travelling to visit a regular client who was getting married the following month and wanted to discuss possible hairstyles and make-up for the event.

Cow in the path

She was driving her Ford Fiesta along a country lane near Alford in Lincolnshire. As she turned around a bend, she found a cow standing directly in her path. She put her foot on the brakes and veered the vehicle to the side of the animal which caused her hit a lamppost. The cow ran off down the road and disappeared but fortunately a passer-by who witnessed the accident, called for an ambulance.

The woman was taken to hospital and treated for serious neck injuries; she was told to go home and rest for four weeks. Whilst at home she decided to research the internet for road traffic accidents involving livestock.

She knew that if she wanted to make a no win no fee claim for a car accident involving another vehicle that the claim would be made against the driver of the other car, but she was unsure who would she would make a claim against in this instance.

Upon further research, she discovered that the person responsible for the crash was the cow's owner and that there was in fact a farm close by to where the accident happened. She then decided to look for reputable companies, who could help with no win no fee compensation claims.

Farmer liable

After speaking to legal advisors she found out that the farmer who owned the cow would be liable for the car accident as any owner of livestock has a duty to make sure that their animals are kept in secure confinement. The legal team helped her to take on her no win no fee claim.

The farmer admitted liability for the car crash but was not willing to pay the level of compensation that the woman had requested.

The injury lawyers continued work in the woman's behalf and bargained with the farmer's solicitors for several weeks until they accepted to pay the requested level of damages.

Some months later, the woman was awarded £4,500 which included £3,500 for her neck injury and £1,000 for her loss of earnings over the four week period that she was recovering at home. She was also able to keep the total amount of compensation that she was awarded.