Hunting Accidents Frequently Asked Questions

The following questions and answers address common questions regarding hunting accident insurance, hunting injury laws and how hunting injury lawyers can assist victims of hunting accidents in investigating claims.

1. How many people are injured in hunting accidents?

The most recent complete statistics from the International Hunter Education Association show that in 2002 there were 93 fatal and 805 non-fatal injuries resulting from hunting accidents.

2. How safe is hunting compared to other outdoor activities?

Hunting is one of the safest forms of recreation in the United States compared to other sporting and recreational activities. Firearms are involved in less than 1 percent of all accidental fatalities.

3. What are the most common causes of hunting accidents?

Hunting accidents are caused by many different events but the most common causes are failure to identify target, shooter swinging on game, careless handling of firearm and victim out of sight of shooter.

4. Does insurance cover hunting accident claims?

Homeowners insurance will often cover injuries resulting from hunting accidents. A homeowners policy will typically provide coverage to help cover losses such as lost wages, medical bills and pain and suffering. Hunting injury lawyers can investigate whether the negligent shooter has insurance to cover your injuries or wrongful death. This is the same type of insurance that covers a person if their child breaks someone else's window with a baseball, a dog bites the neighbor or a visitor is injured on their premises.

5. How many hunters are there in the United States?

The National Sporting Goods Association estimates there are 20.6 million active hunters in the United States.

6. What laws cover hunting accidents?

There are many hunting injury laws and regulations that relate to hunting accidents. The majority of regulations are related to hunting and firearms themselves. These might include such things as licensing, shooting hours and trespass laws. We have included more specific information on hunting laws and regulations on our State Resources page on this website. Generally hunting accidents would be covered under what are called "negligence" laws. A person who is at fault or liable for an injury and did not intentionally try to harm another is considered negligent under the law. If a person dies from a hunting injury there is a separate claim referred to as a "wrongful death" action. Hunting injury lawyers at Fields Law can help explain the different laws that pertain to your specific hunting injury and the best course of action to protect your legal interest.

7. How do I know if I can make a claim for a hunting injury or wrongful death?

Whether someone has a valid legal claim involves analyzing many different factors including the specific facts of how the hunting injury occurred and the relevant laws and regulations. Considerations such as whether alcohol was involved, fault issues such as if the victim moved into the line of fire, trespass laws and statute of limitations are just a few things that must be looked at when deciding if a victim of a hunting injury has a valid cause of action.

8. How long do I have to make a claim for injuries from a hunting accident?

The amount of time a person or family has to pursue a claim for an injury from hunting accidents is called a "statute of limitation". The time period varies from state to state and can be as short as 1 year and up to 6 years. It is best to contact a hunting injury lawyer as soon as possible to help protect your legal rights and start investigating your claim.

Hunting Injury Lawyers

If you or a loved one has suffered a hunting injury you may be entitled to file a claim against the responsible party. Fields Law has hunting injury lawyers that can investigate your hunting injury claim and help you with medical bills, lost wages and other financial compensation. We have the experience and resources to fight for justice and fair compensation for those injured in hunting accidents.

There is no charge to evaluate your claim and there are no fees unless we recover compensation for you.

Hunting injury lawyers protecting the citizens of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota and representing hunting accident victims throughout the United States.