babymakesone
Member
What is the name of your state? South Dakota
The morning of 9/20/07, I received a phone call that someone had hit one of our bulls on the highway (we live on the highway with pastures on both sides). I went out to find the bull alive, but the car totalled. The lady that hit it had already taken care to call 911 before I got out there. A neighbor helped me get the bull in to the yard where he died a couple of hours later.
The lady's auto insurance company called me the next week to get a recorded statement as to what happened. The following Monday, our liability carrier (who is the same as her auto insurance) called to get more of a recorded statement. The adjuster asked that I send pictures of our fences showing what condition they are in. I did so that day.
Today we get a letter in the mail that was sent to the lady that hit the bull stating that the insurance company did not see any negligence on our part so they were not going to be able to pay her auto claim. The insurance company also checked with the sheriff's office and found that we have no complaints of having cattle out.
I know that the lady can go to the Division of Insurance to try to get "justice", but can she also try to sue us in small claims for either the cost of the car, the cost of the deductible (apparently they have full coverage) or the state maximum? (yes, I know that anyone can sue anyone for anything) Does what the insurance company say have anything to do with small claims - meaning that they found our fences in excellent repair & no complaints of cattle out?
Thanks!
The morning of 9/20/07, I received a phone call that someone had hit one of our bulls on the highway (we live on the highway with pastures on both sides). I went out to find the bull alive, but the car totalled. The lady that hit it had already taken care to call 911 before I got out there. A neighbor helped me get the bull in to the yard where he died a couple of hours later.
The lady's auto insurance company called me the next week to get a recorded statement as to what happened. The following Monday, our liability carrier (who is the same as her auto insurance) called to get more of a recorded statement. The adjuster asked that I send pictures of our fences showing what condition they are in. I did so that day.
Today we get a letter in the mail that was sent to the lady that hit the bull stating that the insurance company did not see any negligence on our part so they were not going to be able to pay her auto claim. The insurance company also checked with the sheriff's office and found that we have no complaints of having cattle out.
I know that the lady can go to the Division of Insurance to try to get "justice", but can she also try to sue us in small claims for either the cost of the car, the cost of the deductible (apparently they have full coverage) or the state maximum? (yes, I know that anyone can sue anyone for anything) Does what the insurance company say have anything to do with small claims - meaning that they found our fences in excellent repair & no complaints of cattle out?
Thanks!
