I rode into a Deer

I had an accident last year when I hit a deer that run out from a hedge on the side of the road. My injuries were quite serious but luckily I have now pretty much fully recovered. I noticed recently that someone has been regularly trimming the hedges, and there is now a warning sign with a stag on it. I don’t know who owns and maintains the hedges but do you think I have any grounds for a compensation claim?

Grant Stevens, by e-mail

Answer

I think you would face an uphill struggle looking to establish any liability on the part of the council or highways authority for your accident. If you could prove that the deer that belonged to a private farm, as opposed to a wild animal, then you may have a claim as you could go after the owner for compensation for their failure to contain the animal but I cannot see how you would be able to prove this.

You could write to the council asking if they knew of a problem with deer on the road and ask for details of any previous accidents involving deer or reports of deer. There may be minutes available of such discussions. If they decided that action was required but they failed to take any action then you could have a claim. However, I think this is going to be very difficult. See what information you can get and we can consider it further then.