Dog ran into me and I broke my ankle - now what?

Andyclockwise

mountainofdebt wrote: »

On the assumption that the OP's partner was to make a claim then what would you advise her to claim for?

Personally I think she would only be able to claim for loss of earnings and perhaps pain and discomfort.

(just to take the discussion onto the next level...........whether she should or shouldn't seems to have become never the twain shall meet argument lol!)

This is a relevant point - and to be clear, the chances are we won't take any action, we really don't need the additional stress, uncertainty and bad feelings all round that would result, but if complications set in, and a long period off work results, then maybe we will have to.

Of course we will speak nicely with the owners (we already have), but this would have to become a legal and adversarial process because insurance will only cover them if they are found to be negligent - i.e. a legal process has to be followed. If they simply admit liability, they are not covered. Nobody wants that. By the way, the owners do have pet insurance, we have asked them.

I am under no illusion that any lawyer will advise us to ruthlessly go for everything (loss of income, pain, distress, hospital parking, mileage, holiday deposit, wheelchair hire, medicine, mobility aids etc etc) because it increases their profit and reduces their (and our) risk. I have read elsewhere that claims of this type are nearly always settled out of court by insurance companies to avoid legal costs. The amount is, in all likelihood, going to be arbitrary.

JencParker

KatieDee wrote: »

Perhaps I am seeing this incorrectly but I would have thought that if you purchase a dog, you are liable for any damage done by the dog. If the dog had simply knocked OP's partner over, I would have agreed that looking into the owners providing compensation would have been overboard.

However, this persons ankle was broken which can cause considerable issues in the future, even after treatment. She has lost money through being unable to work and therefore, is out of pocket financially. Worst case scenario...this couple could lose their home because that dog was not on a leash and decided to bomb towards her.

I am a jogger and feel very uncomfortable when I see dogs walking far in front of their owners without a lead. They could be the most well trained dogs in the world but if they see someone running and want to join in...well I've been in a fair few near-collisions myself. Most of the time it's an apology from the owner and a few chuckles but if it ever resulted in me gaining a long term injury, I honestly wouldn't think twice about claiming.

This is coming from somebody who has been involved in a few non-fault car accidents but has never claimed for damages. None of those accidents resulted in what I would consider to be severe damages...but a broken ankle is!

Obviously it's not fantastic for the dog owners and I do feel for them...but I don't think the OP should be made to feel bad for attempting to cover the amount lost through the accident.

My own experience is that joggers are those at fault. Perhaps it's just where I live but they keep going and pay little attention and take risks with things around them (including running across roads). An example last weekend. I was standing with my dog with a group of other dogs waiting a training session. Along came a jogger who made no attempt to slow down and just kept coming dodging through all the dogs/handlers standing around. She slipped on some gravel, ended up kicking my dog in the process of taking quite a tumble and then got up stared at use as if it was our fault before running off.

custardy

JencParker wrote: »

My own experience is that joggers are those at fault. Perhaps it's just where I live but they keep going and pay little attention and take risks with things around them (including running across roads). An example last weekend. I was standing with my dog with a group of other dogs waiting a training session. Along came a jogger who made no attempt to slow down and just kept coming dodging through all the dogs/handlers standing around. She slipped on some gravel, ended up kicking my dog in the process of taking quite a tumble and then got up stared at use as if it was our fault before running off.

Would that be standing on the path?

POPPYOSCAR

JencParker wrote: »

My own experience is that joggers are those at fault. Perhaps it's just where I live but they keep going and pay little attention and take risks with things around them (including running across roads). An example last weekend. I was standing with my dog with a group of other dogs waiting a training session. Along came a jogger who made no attempt to slow down and just kept coming dodging through all the dogs/handlers standing around. She slipped on some gravel, ended up kicking my dog in the process of taking quite a tumble and then got up stared at use as if it was our fault before running off.

So you all obviously saw her heading towards you but made no attempt to get out of the way?

POPPYOSCAR

heartbreak_star wrote: »

Incidentally, any claim might be muddied by the fact that the OP's dog was also off the leash and could have also caused "carnage".

HBS x

Irrelevant to any claim.

Andyclockwise

JencParker wrote: »

My own experience is that joggers are those at fault. Perhaps it's just where I live but they keep going and pay little attention and take risks with things around them (including running across roads). An example last weekend. I was standing with my dog with a group of other dogs waiting a training session. Along came a jogger who made no attempt to slow down and just kept coming dodging through all the dogs/handlers standing around. She slipped on some gravel, ended up kicking my dog in the process of taking quite a tumble and then got up stared at use as if it was our fault before running off.

How does this comment have any bearing on the OP? We were "jogging" around a sports playing field.

custardy

POPPYOSCAR wrote: »

So you all obviously saw her heading towards you but made no attempt to get out of the way?

Its amazing how one person can get in the way so much vs a group of people with dogs.
What was the woman thinking............

JencParker

POPPYOSCAR wrote: »

So you all obviously saw her heading towards you but made no attempt to get out of the way?

No, why should we? It was a large area and there was plenty of room to go round, besides, the speed with which she came would not have given us the time to move even if we were thus inclined. For some reason joggers seem to live in their own bubble that makes them unaware of anything outside the bubble they run in.

custardy

JencParker wrote: »

No, why should we? It was a large area and there was plenty of room to go round, besides, the speed with which she came would not have given us the time to move even if we were thus inclined. For some reason joggers seem to live in their own bubble that makes them unaware of anything outside the bubble they run in.

Yet you feel the person jogging should move for you?
There's someone in a bubble for sure.

lovinituk

JencParker wrote: »

For some reason dog owners standing in a crowd seem to live in their own bubble that makes them unaware of anything outside the bubble they stand in.

Fixed for you