Driver who hit and injured turtle ordered to pay damages, but pet owner also at fault

A Taichung City resident was ordered to pay 80% of medical costs for the repair of a turtle’s shell, after she hit the animal while driving out of a parking lot in October, 2023. The pet owner was also found partially at fault.

According to evidence presented to the Taichung District Court, a man named Hsu was walking his pet turtle in a car park when a woman, named Lee, driving a light truck, hit the animal, causing cracks to the turtle’s shell.

Mr Hsu took the turtle to an animal hospital to have the shell repaired and incurred NT$36,600 in medical expenses.

Hsu sued Lee for the full cost of the medical expenses, arguing that Lee should bear full responsibility for the accident.

The judge pointed out that according to Article 94, Paragraph 3 of the Road Safety Traffic Act, a driver should pay full attention to the situation in front of the car and take necessary actions to ensure safety at all times. Although the accident did not occur on a public road, according to the above provisions, the driver still has a duty of care, and Ms Lee should have been paying attention and failed to do so. Therefore, Lee was obviously negligent and liable for damages.

However, Article 3, Paragraph 7 of the Animal Protection Act stipulates that pet owners should prevent the animals they raise from infringing upon the life, body, freedom or property of others without reason, and Article 140, Paragraph 7 of the Road Traffic Safety Rules expressly states that no one shall allow or lead livestock, poultry or pets on the road and obstruct traffic.

The court judged that Hsu, as a pet owner, should have taken good care of the turtle and not allowed it to walk in a traffic area. However, he allowed the turtle to stop in the traffic area, which led to the vehicle hitting it. Hsu was therefore also at fault.

The court determined that Lee should bear 80% of the liability, and Hsu, 20% of the liability. Therefore, Lee was ordered to pay a total of NT$29,280 to Mr Hsu.

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