New York Man Hunts Deer After Sunset With Handgun . . . Kills Woman Walking Her Dogs

We have periodically discussed hunting accidents and the sometimes curious treatment given by juries in excusing negligence. Thomas Jadlowski, 34,  faces the latest such charge. He shot and killed a woman who was walking her dogs in western New York.

Jadlowski was using a high-powered pistol when he spotted the deer some 40 minutes after sunset.  He fired and hit Rosemary Billquist, 43, in the hip as she was walking her two Labrador Retrievers in the field behind her home in Sherman.  He called 911 and applied pressure on her wound until paramedics arrived.  It didn’t help.  Billquist died soon afterward.

No charges have been fired against Jadlowski. However, the law prohibits hunting after sunset.  Moreover, Billquist was shot on land where Jadlowski was not authorized to hunt.  

We have often discussed hunting torts and the concept of “Buck Fever” or in this case Big Foot fever. For a prior column, click here.  The injury is a clear case of negligence. All hunting regulations state that a hunter should have visual contact before shooting at an animal. We have previously discussed such hunting accidents (here and here and here and here and here and here) and “buck fever” cases.