DOG BITE CLAIMS
With the growth in the insurance industry and the increase in people’s awareness of the availability of insurance, it is perhaps not surprising that pet insurance is becoming more and more popular.
Policies for dogs and cats can now be taken out for no more than £8.00 or so per month to cover Vet fees and other contingencies. Given that an emergency consultation after a road traffic accident, for example, can easily cost £300.00 or more, and the fact that one in three cats or dogs, at some time during their life, require emergency Vet consultations, the premium charged is certainly reasonable.
Furthermore most (if not all) policies make provision for public liability cover of up to £1,000,000.00 (dogs only). This provides a substantial degree of security for an owner whose dog, unfortunately causes harm to another in some way. It also enables claims to be more securely made against dog owners in the event of an accident caused by that dog.
This could help potential Claimants in 2 ways:-
Firstly, if you are bitten or otherwise injured by a dog, you have the common law right to pursue a claim against the dog owner in negligence in respect of any injuries sustained or other loss suffered (e.g. loss of earnings). In the past it has perhaps been the practice of many solicitors, in advising clients, to suggest that a claim may not be worthwhile pursuing since the dog’s owner would have to be traced and, even in the event of a successful claim, the client may have great difficulty in enforcing the Judgement against the dog’s owner. Also before the advent of “no win no fee” agreements, and if the Claimant were unable to obtain legal aid funding, the costs of pursuing the claim could be substantial and may never be recovered from the dog’s owner.
Now, if it can be established that the dog’s owner has the benefit of an insurance policy covering public liability, then most personal injury solicitors would agree to take the matter on on a conditional fee (”no win no fee”) basis provided the severity of the injury justified the making of a claim (i.e. the value of the claim needs to be more than £1,000.00). Thus the burden of your own solicitor’s costs is avoided and you have the reassurance of knowing that any Judgement will be met by the relevant insurance company should the claim prove to be successful.
Secondly, and perhaps less importantly, if you should suffer a road traffic accident owing to a dog running into the path of your car, again it may have been the solicitor’s advice years ago (or perhaps not so long ago!) that a claim would not be worth pursuing. If, however, you can trace the owner of the dog (and the Police would assist here – if called out), then again a policy of this kind would cover personal injury to you and damage to your vehicle.
It should be added that Section 3 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 states as follows:-
3.—(1) If a dog is dangerously out of control in a public place—
(a) the owner; and
(b) if different, the person for the time being in charge of the dog,
is guilty of an offence, or, if the dog while so out of control injures any person, an aggravated offence, under this subsection.
Any conviction in the Magistrates Court under this section would, of course, virtually guarantee a successful civil claim against the dog’s owner.
Chris Newton
Partner with Maxwell Hodge
Solicitors
Kirkby.
Member of the Law Society’s Personal Injury Panel.
(and owner of a very lively but friendly Springer Spaniel!)
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