Guaranteed to give pause to landowners who you might ask for hunting permission is a November 2004 Pennsylvania case, where a hunter ? with landowner permission ? missed his target.
The bullet left the landowner?s property, traveled through a vehicle window on another property and hit a pregnant 18-year-old in the head. Fortunately, the woman survived, and the baby was delivered successfully.
The injured party sued both the hunter and the landowner. Unfortunately, a landowner liability law to protect landowners against hunting accidents caused by others did not protect this landowner from off-site damages.
A Pennsylvania jury found the landowner libel for 10 percent of the award. Since the hunter had limited financial resources, Pennsylvania law required the landowner to foot all awarded damages.
However, a new landowner clause unanimously passed the Pennsylvania Senate and House and was signed into law by Gov. Ed Rendell on June 30. The clause protects landowners from liability from any injury/damage to person/property on or off their property, when such action is caused by hunting.
Maryland has a landowner liability law. Written permission is required to legally hunt on private property, and a reproducible permission slip is in the 2007-2008 Guide to Hunting & Trapping in Maryland. However, that may not always make a landowner ecstatic about welcoming you to his property.
“Maryland [and many other states] have recreational-use statues that essentially state that a landowner who allows a person to come onto the landowner?s land will not be held liable if the person gets injured on the land,” said Joe Gill, principal counsel for the Maryland DNR. “The protection from liability does not extend to persons who are not on the premises.”
For any recreational use on another?s property, suggest to your friendly ? but perhaps reluctant ? landowner that the permission wording be expanded to include whatever legal language the landowner would like, suggested Paul Peditto, DNR Wildlife and Heritage Service director. As it is, the permission slip does protect against “at least 99 percent of such situations,” said Shaun Fenlon, Assistant Attorney General for the DNR.
In effect, a signed permission slip is a “hold-harmless” document designed to protect landowners and to encourage hunting on private land. It is not necessary in other outdoor sports but might help gain access. It could be used by landowners in fishing, bird watching, use of ATVs, swimming, boating, kite-flying, falconry, etc.
Rest easy ? Maryland has a good liability law to protect landowners and make them comfortable about letting you do your outdoor thing on their property. Maryland has never had a case where there has been property damage or injury off-site of legally hunted private land.
Politely ask permission. Respect all landowner requests. Offer the landowner some game or fish, if possible. Send a card at Christmas. Politeness opens doors ? and hunting lands.
C. Boyd Pfeiffer is an internationally known sportsman and award-winning writer on fishing, hunting and the outdoors. He can be reached at [email protected].
