2023 Author: Eric Donovan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-21 15:44
If a motorist causes an accident, for example because of a deer, the burden of proof rests with him. Simply pointing out this is not enough for the insurance company.
In the event of a wildlife accident, the burden of proof towards the insurance company lies entirely with the driver. Courts and insurers have high demands, as a ruling by the Berlin Regional Court makes clear.
Lost the road
In the case decided, a car driver had strayed off the road and ended up in a ditch. His car was totaled. He told the insurance company and the court that the accident occurred as a result of colliding with an animal, probably a deer. It was also fitting that the district forester had found a dead deer that had been injured in an accident near the scene of the accident. However, an expert only found dog hair on the car of the accident driver.
The court then rejected the motorist's claim against the comprehensive insurance. The person concerned could not give any clear information about the type of animal, the judges assessed the reference to a deer as an obvious assumption, according to the magazine "Straßenverkehrsrecht", but also nothing more (LG Berlin, Az.: 17 O 114/07, SVR 2009, 65). (mid)
