Law widens landowners' immunity from hunting accident lawsuits
Source: WHPTV.com
July 03, 2007
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Pennsylvania property owners who allow hunting on their land are now shielded from lawsuits over accidents involving victims who are not on their property.
Landowners who allow the free use of their property for recreational activities -- such as hunting, fishing, swimming and hiking -- have been protected from liability for accidents for more than four decades. A bill that Governor Ed Rendell signed into law Saturday extends that protection for hunting -- even when the victim is in a distant location.
The impetus for the change was a bizarre hunting accident that occurred in Lehigh County in 2004. A pregnant woman was accidentally shot in the head by a hunter who was more than a half-mile away. She suffered long-term complications, but her baby was born healthy.
The Pennsylvania Farm Bureau says the change will ease the concern of farmers who open their land to hunters, so that they can enjoy their sport and help farmers control wildlife that causes crop damage.
