Landlord's Insurance and Dogs

Norma_Desmond

theartfullodger wrote: »

Think I'd still see them in court...

Too many people want their compo when it's their own silly fault & these things happen. Sounds like you've been more than fair...

And would it have been a postman's fault?

ajayre

Wow - thank you for all the responses. We are just horrified that this even happened at all. Until I read these responses my thinking was exactly the same as ValHaller's. We don't want to shirk our responsibility for anything but at the same time this is causing a lot of stress. The cut was clearly a straight line in at an angle.

The person has claimed our dog had hold of his finger for 30 seconds! That is a long time. We were at the door about four or five seconds after the charity bag came through.

Thank you to krlyr - we actually do have Dog's Trust membership!

Everyone's responses have helped us to feel a bit better. Now off to find Dog's Trust paperwork.

Andy

ValHaller

kitschkitty wrote: »

Obviously!

If someone was surprised by the dog and injured themselves that's their problem.

If the dog injured someone (directly) it's the owners problem.

But they injured themselves on OP's (Landlord's) letterbox. Is OP (or LL) not as responsible for the letterbox not causing injury as for the dog ????

GoldenShadow

ajayre wrote: »

Wow - thank you for all the responses. We are just horrified that this even happened at all. Until I read these responses my thinking was exactly the same as ValHaller's. We don't want to shirk our responsibility for anything but at the same time this is causing a lot of stress. The cut was clearly a straight line in at an angle.

The person has claimed our dog had hold of his finger for 30 seconds! That is a long time. We were at the door about four or five seconds after the charity bag came through.

Thank you to krlyr - we actually do have Dog's Trust membership!

Everyone's responses have helped us to feel a bit better. Now off to find Dog's Trust paperwork.

Andy

I would contact Dog's Trust and ask for their opinion. They should be pretty good at dealing with this and should do it all for you

Icecold_2

Better_Days wrote: »

A dog bite is much more likely to be a puncture wound than a cut. If it is a cut it seems to me that it was probably caused by the letter box.

I certainly wouldn't settle at this point. Don't accept the premise of the letter that there is compensation due. The claimant may be thinking that if you have insurance then it won't cost you anything to settle.

I would write back saying you don't accept that compensation is due and asking what evidence they have to support their claim that the wound was caused by your dog.

Sounds to me like a 'no win, no fee' outfit chancing their arm. (or their finger!)

BTW do you have pet insurance? If so there is probably a 'third party' element.

^^^^^^^^^^^
Absolutely this

Catherine_Johnson_2

Whether the cut was made by the dog or whether they cut themselves on the letterbox is irrelevant. They were injured on your premises. If someone tripped over on your path or driveway and injured themselves they could sue you (just think back a few weeks to that WPC who is making a claim because she tripped over a kerb at a garage).

Whether it's morally right or wrong for them to sue is irrelevant too. They've gone to a solicitor (no win - no fee or normal doesn't matter) and are making a claim so you have to defend it as best you can.

If it had been a cut from the letterbox you could, possibly, have pointed them to your landlord who may have been liable. As it is, the person is adamant it was your dog.

Perhaps you should be asking for a doctor's report saying this wound was consistent with a dog bite? Also, check your household insurance (you should have contents insured) as these sometimes have legal costs covered too. It might not cover it but worth checking.

kitschkitty

ValHaller wrote: »

But they injured themselves on OP's (Landlord's) letterbox. Is OP (or LL) not as responsible for the letterbox not causing injury as for the dog ????

Unless the OP (or LL) knew the letterbox to be dangerous or picked it up and hit someone round the head with it then no. Accidents do still happen, despite the compo culture trying to convince people otherwise.

(and in your own comment you've actually stated "they injured themselves")!

ajayre

Well now I am not sure if we have Dog's Trust membership. Its £25 a year but we pay £2 a week as a "supporter" instead. I can't tell if that is like enhanced membership or not membership at all. sigh...

BTW the person did call the police. They came around and my wife said he did it on the letterbox. They got annoyed at that and told us to put a warning on the door and a baby gate, which we did within 24 hours.

Andy

ValHaller

kitschkitty wrote: »

Unless the OP (or LL) knew the letterbox to be dangerous or picked it up and hit someone round the head with it then no. Accidents do still happen, despite the compo culture trying to convince people otherwise.

(and in your own comment you've actually stated "they injured themselves")!

Oh, I have been caught out by a Freudian slip have I? Should I have said that it was not the dog, it was the letter box which attacked them?

The essence of the point is that showing that it was the letterbox and not the dog just takes you to the same argument for the letterbox as for the dog. Establishing that it was the letterbox takes OP no further forward. And I cannot see that OP and LL are less responsible for the letterbox than OP is for the dog.

ognum

krlyr wrote: »

If your dog isn't insured then I'd recommend joining the Dogs Trust - £25 a year and it gives you third party liability cover on any dogs in your household. May not be of any use for this matter, but it'll give you peace of mind for anything your dog may do in the future.

As others have said, though, I can't see this going very far in court, and I wouldn't be offering to settle at all. If it were me, the first letter would probably be binned (well, I may keep it just incase, but I wouldn't act on it), further attempts might be responded to with either a firmly written "on your bike!" letter or perhaps even one of those paid solicitor's letters back (companies will do headed, signed solicitor-esque letters for a small fee) to show them you're not going to play ball.

Also, just incase it's playing on your mind - I don't believe the DDA has been completely amended yet - there have been proposed changes to make owners liable for dog attacks on private property, e.g. postman getting bitten through the postbox, but I believe current laws mean it's only a civil matter. So no need to worry about the police turning up on your doorstep or anything in regards to a dog bite.

Dogs Trust annual fee is £12.50 if you are over 60!