We return to the incident that occurred on Tuesday (13 July). On the way out of Łąka, a doe ran under a moving car. The animal did not survive, and the front of the car was damaged (a broken headlight, damaged bumper and bodywork). Immediately after the incident, the driver began pursuing compensation, but then he collided again—this time with a proverbial wall. Determining who should pay the compensation can be compared to the New Testament's sending someone from Annas to Caiaphas...
The man's visit to the forestry district office ended with him being referred to the starost. The starost's office referred him to the municipality. The municipality referred him to the road manager... Fortunately, immediately after Tuesday's incident, the driver called the police to the scene and collected evidence in the form of photographs showing the scene and the damage to the car. The road manager has already been identified, and the matter is pending.
Compensation after a car collision with a wild animal—what you need to know
It turns out that cases concerning collisions and accidents involving wild animals, and obtaining compensation for them, are usually complicated. Many such cases end up in court. A compensation claim may be made against the road manager if they failed to fulfil their duties in some way, for example by failing to place an appropriate warning sign or install a fence in a location where animals regularly cross the road (as is the case, for example, on some sections of motorways).
There are also situations in which a claim for compensation may be made against a forestry district office or a hunting association. This may apply, for example, if the forestry district office had specific knowledge but did not inform the road manager about animals repeatedly crossing a particular road at a particular location, or when frightened game ran onto the road as a result of a hunt. However, all of this must be proven.
Identifying the manager of the road on which the incident occurred and gathering evidence (calling the police to the scene, taking photographic documentation, and collecting the accounts and details of witnesses) to determine who is to pay the compensation are the responsibility of the person seeking compensation. It is worth remembering this should such a road incident involving an animal occur.
The situation is easier when the driver has comprehensive insurance and it covers incidents involving a vehicle colliding with wild animals. In such a case, obtaining compensation should not be problematic.