Jane Cooper

Mr H, an Amazon delivery driver, was delivering a parcel to the dog owner’s house.  At the time the house was empty but, unbeknown to Mr H, a Rottweiler dog was loose in the garden. The dog chased Mr H and bit him on the arm, causing serious injury.

The man contacted Graysons to see if he could make a claim against the house owner for the dog bite, and Jane took up his case.

Many legal firms will not take on dog bite cases as they have a low success rate and often there is no insurance to pay for the damages.  However, Jane has particular skill in that area and Graysons has a good track record of helping people get the compensation they deserve, even when there is no insurance.

Dog bite would not have happened if dog had been tethered

If the dog had been tethered, Mr H’s injury would not have happened.  Jane claimed that not only had the owner breached his duty under section 2 of the Animals Act 1971 he had not discharged his duties under common law liability for animals and the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957.  The dog should have been tethered when the property was unoccupied.

The property owner denied that he was the dog’s owner, but he accepted a police caution and condition to keep the dog tethered when the property wasn’t occupied.

Mr H suffered severe scarring, which remains visible, and which disrupted his pre-existing tattoos. This is likely to require rectification by a skin camouflage expert. He was also impacted psychologically and now suffers from situational anxiety.

Jane issued proceedings and the case was heard in court, resulting in substantial five-figure compensation for Mr H.

If you have been injured by an animal and you want to know if you can claim compensation, contact our personal injury experts now.  We will arrange a free-of-charge meeting in which we can discuss your case, and if we can take it on, we will offer you a no-win, no-fee agreement.

You can also find out more about claiming compensation for injuries caused by animals on our web pages.

Author: Jane Cooper, partner and head of personal injury.