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Hit a Deer in North Dakota? What to Do, Who to Call and Whether Insurance Pays

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Hit a Deer in North Dakota? What to Do, Who to Call and Whether Insurance Pays

Pull over safely, turn on your hazards, and check everyone for injuries. Call 911 if anyone is hurt.

If the deer damaged only your own vehicle, North Dakota law doesn’t require a police report, no matter how bad the damage. Comprehensive coverage pays for the car, and North Dakota no-fault pays first for injuries.

Quick Facts

  • Call police immediately if anyone is injured or killed (N.D.C.C. § 39-08-09).
  • A wild-animal crash that damages only your own vehicle is exempt from the reporting rule, regardless of the dollar amount (§ 39-08-09(3)).
  • Get a free permit from a game warden or local law enforcement before you take a road-killed deer.
  • Comprehensive coverage, not collision, usually pays for deer damage.
  • North Dakota no-fault pays up to $30,000 per person for economic losses from crash injuries (N.D.C.C. § 26.1-41-01).

What should you do right after hitting a deer?

Move out of traffic if you can, turn on your hazards and check yourself and your passengers. Call 911 if anyone is hurt or your vehicle is blocking the road. Keep your distance from the deer. Then photograph the scene and your vehicle before anything gets moved.

  • Stay off the road. Deer hits cluster around dawn and dusk on rural highways, when visibility is poor. If you get out, stand well away from traffic.
  • Leave the deer alone. A wounded deer kicks hard. Call law enforcement or a game warden to deal with it.
  • Take photos. Get the damage, your location, road conditions, and any fence, sign or mailbox you hit.
  • Check the car before driving. Look for leaks, broken lights, a loose hood or bumper, and tires rubbing on bent panels.
  • Get checked if anything hurts. Headaches and neck or back pain often appear hours or days later, and early records support a no-fault claim.

Do you have to report hitting a deer in North Dakota?

Not if the deer damaged only your vehicle. N.D.C.C. § 39-08-09 requires an immediate report for any crash that injures or kills someone or causes at least $4,000 in apparent property damage. But subsection 3 exempts crashes with a wild animal that damage only the driver’s own vehicle, whatever the repair bill.

When a report is required, call the local police department inside a city. Outside city limits, call the county sheriff or the North Dakota Highway Patrol.

The exemption stops applying in three situations:

  • Someone is hurt. Report it immediately.
  • You damaged someone else’s property. If you hit a fence, sign, mailbox or guardrail, § 39-08-08 requires you to make reasonable efforts to notify the owner, and § 39-08-09 applies.
  • Another vehicle was involved. The exemption covers damage to your own vehicle only. A crash with another car follows the normal reporting rules.

Your insurer is a separate call. Report the claim promptly even when the police don’t need to hear about it, and send the photos you took at the scene.

Even when nothing is required, a call can help. An officer can direct traffic, handle the deer and issue a possession permit on the spot.

Can you keep a deer you hit in North Dakota?

Yes, with a permit. North Dakota Game and Fish requires a permit before you take possession of a dead deer found along a road or in a field. The permits are free. Game wardens and local law enforcement issue them, including Highway Patrol troopers and sheriff’s deputies.

Three more rules from Game and Fish:

  • Get the permit before you load the deer.
  • Don’t leave carcass waste on public property, including roadways, ditches and wildlife management areas.
  • Check for carcass transportation restrictions. Some hunting units have chronic wasting disease rules.

Questions? Call a local game warden or the North Dakota Game and Fish Department.

Does insurance cover hitting a deer in North Dakota?

Yes, if you carry comprehensive coverage. Insurers usually treat an animal strike as a comprehensive loss, not a collision, and your comprehensive deductible applies. A liability-only policy won’t pay to repair your own car. Your injuries run through a separate claim under North Dakota no-fault.

  • Swerving changes the claim. Miss the deer and hit a ditch, tree or another car, and the damage usually becomes a collision claim with your collision deductible.
  • Financed cars almost always have comprehensive. Lenders and leasing companies require it.
  • Your policy controls the details. Check your declarations page for coverage, deductibles and limits.

Who pays for injuries after a deer crash in North Dakota?

Your own no-fault coverage pays first. North Dakota requires basic no-fault benefits (also called PIP) on every auto policy, and they pay for economic losses from crash injuries regardless of fault. N.D.C.C. § 26.1-41-01 caps basic no-fault benefits at $30,000 per person, per accident.

Inside that $30,000:

  • Medical expenses: reasonable charges for necessary treatment.
  • Work loss: 85% of lost income from work, up to $150 a week.
  • Replacement services: up to $15 a day for help with tasks you can’t do while injured.
  • Funeral, cremation and burial: up to $3,500.
  • Survivors’ benefits: income loss and replacement services for dependents.

Report your injuries to your insurer promptly.

A deer-only crash leaves nobody to sue. When a deer sets off a crash with another vehicle, you can bring a claim against a driver who was at fault. Pain and suffering is recoverable only for a “serious injury”: death, dismemberment, serious and permanent disfigurement, disability beyond 60 days, or more than $2,500 in medical expenses (§ 26.1-41-01(21)).

When are deer most active on North Dakota roads?

Fall, at dawn and dusk. The fall breeding season keeps deer on the move, and hunting pressure pushes them across roads.

  • Slow down at dawn and dusk, especially near shelterbelts, river bottoms and crop fields.
  • Use your high beams when no one is coming.
  • One deer usually means more. Watch for the second and third.
  • Brake firmly and stay in your lane. Swerving trades a deer strike for a rollover or a head-on crash.
  • Buckle up, every trip.

FAQ

Does a deer claim count as an at-fault accident?

Insurers generally treat a comprehensive deer claim as not at fault. Each company sets its own rating rules, so ask your agent.

Can someone else take the deer if I don’t want it?

Yes, with their own permit. Anyone who takes a road-killed deer needs one first. Ask the officer or game warden at the scene.

Does no-fault cover my passengers?

Yes. Passengers claim basic no-fault benefits, and each injured person has their own $30,000 limit.

Talk With Sand Law, PLLC

If you were hurt in a deer-related crash in North Dakota, we can explain how no-fault applies, deal with a denial, and tell you whether another driver shares the blame. Call Sand Law, PLLC at 701-609-1510 or visit sandlawnd.com.

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