Florence: Accidents with wild animals: pay the insurance from the Province
The vice president of the Province of Florence Laura Cantini answered, in the Provincial Council, to a topical question by Leonardo Comucci (Pdl) on the proceeding against the Province which saw the administration succumb to a motorist who was hit by a roe deer.
"The sentence - specified the councilor for hunting and fishing Cantini - effectively condemns the compensation of the motor vehicle damage, but in this case the case included not only the Province but also the body that insures the Province, for which we were in three within this procedure.
The Province did not have any sentence to pay compensation for the damage and the judge attributed it, as due, from the insurance. So the Province has nothing to complain about. Surely the matter of wildlife accidents is a new matter. Until recently there were only sporadic cases of this type and it is new also because wildlife is increasing. The wildlife is an unavailable heritage of the State, and not the property of the Province, and damage is eventually recognized when there is a neglect of the signs. The documentation showed that on this road, and in particular in that stretch, there were signs and every other possible device to indicate the possibility of crossing wild animals. One wonders: how can the Province defend motorists and their roads from a completely unpredictable cause such as the possibility of anyone crossing, including a wild animal? "
Comucci replied that: “The problem is now long-standing for our Province. It is true that all these incidents are numerous but I do not see why the common citizen has to appeal to the Province and perhaps even go as far as second degree and cassation sentences, in order to be recognized for damages that are obvious as in any case we have the insurance. We have often asked ourselves this problem, even with the advocacy of the Province, to understand exactly how it was possible where the damage was evident to let go of certain defenses in order to be able to reach a solution. On the one hand there is the need of the Province to continue to defend itself in all levels of judgment, on the other there is the need of the common citizen to be recognized as damage as quickly as possible ".
Source: Nove from Florence