Here is a strange one. Suppose you are driving on I-80 and you hit a deer. You pull over to the side of the road and some time elapses. While you are on the side of the road, another car comes by and strikes the deer that you initially hit. The other driver is severely injured as a result of hitting the deer which was laying in his lane of travel. Can you be sued for not removing the deer, that you originally hit, from the roadway? After all, if you hadn’t hit the deer, it wouldn’t have been laying in the roadway and caused the injury to the second driver, who struck the deer on the highway.
The fact pattern that the Court recently had to consider in deciding this issue turned on the duty of the driver, as an element of negligence. Basically, the Court ruled that you did not have an affirmative duty to remove the injured deer from the travel lanes. If there is no duty, then there is no negligence.
The Court ruled there is no duty upon a motorist to remove a deer from the highway.The Court reasoned that such risk imposes a great safety issue and it would be unreasonable to hold the person responsible under this situation.
What do you think of this decision?