Dog Bites – the scale of the problem
Every year in the United Kingdom tens of thousands of people, some of them children and babies are attacked and bitten by dogs. In some cases the owner or their immediate family are the victims but in the great majority of cases that result in the awarding of dog bite compensation the dog and its owner are not personally known to the victim. Although there is no automatic right to dog bite compensation, our injury claim solicitors can assess, on an individual basis the viability of each potential claim.
Dog Bite Claims – The Law
Dog bite compensation law is governed under The Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 or The Dogs Act 1871 or in some case under The Occupiers Liability Act 1957/1984 and claims can be made in circumstances where the owner of a dog was well aware of its aggressive temperament and propensity for attacking unprovoked but failed to take the necessary steps to keep it under control and thus consequently failed to safeguard members of the public. A person filing a claim for compensation would be able to claim for medical and medication costs, damage to clothing and possessions, loss of amenity (pain and suffering), prescriptions, travelling expenses and injury related costs.
Dog Bite – the Main Offenders
Statistically most attacks are not carried out by so called ‘status’ dogs, such as the Staffordshire Bull Terriers, Rotweillers or the illegal to own or breed from breeds such as Pit Bull Terriers, Dogo Argentinos or Japanese Tosas. Although such animals, usually flaunted by young men as part fashion accessories, part offensive weapons get the lions share of (bad) publicity when they attack and bite someone, most other breeds are also involved in such incidents, even though the injuries inflicted by fighting or hunting dogs are usually more severe than those occasioned by other breeds. In fact, recent polls have revealed that the public consider Jack Russells, Chihuahuas and Dachshunds to be the most aggressive breeds.
Making a Dog Bite Compensation Claims – Your First Steps
As a victim of such a dog attack you would have to file your claim for compensation with three years of the accident and in order to do that you will have previously needed to have reported the incident to the police, obtained the name and address of the dog owner and made contact with as many witnesses to the attack as possible. In addition you would also well advised to photograph the injuries the dog caused to you as soon after the attack as possible, try to find out if the dog that bit you had a well known history of aggression and or attacking people/other dogs and if the attack happened whilst you were at work, complete the accident book with the necessary details.
Claiming Compensation – the Role of Your Solicitor
Once you have done this, your accident claim solicitor will get hold of the Police report of the attack, discover whether any criminal prosecution is to be made against the dog’s owner, contact that owner directly, plus interview any witnesses to the attack, make any further investigations that are necessary and come to a decision as to whether or not your claim is a strong one, or not.
If you have a strong claim, your solicitor will need to get hold of a medical report with regard to your injuries. He or she will then set about establishing your loss of earnings and should keep you regularly updated with the progress of your claim. It can be a far from straight forward process to claim dog bite compensation, but with expert, professional legal help it can be successfully undertaken and result in compensation that will go a long way to helping a victim cope with the shock and trauma, physical injury and associated economic and medical after affects of a dog attack.
Considering Claiming Dog Bite Compensation? Contact us now
Our solicitors offer FREE initial phone advice, a FREE first appointment and no win no fee agreements – so you don’t need to worry about paying legal costs. So If you want to know how to claim injury compensation, simply contact us today
- Call our compensation claims solicitors now on 0800 1404544, or
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