Attacked by dog whilst mistakenly cycling on private country lane

olgadapolga

twister_teddy said:

Some of you might be following this and I thought I should update here. 

The defendant in this case pleaded not guilty at last magistrates court hearing. As such the case has been referred for a trial by jury at a crown court. I have since been approached and advised that defendant is now offering a community resolution and an settle the case outside the court. Please note at the beginning (before the matter went to court) I had given defendant a chance to offer a written apology which was refused.

Although a part of me think that I should accept the offer of a community resolution however I am not sure defendant took the matter seriously early in the process and understand the damage this caused to myself and my family. 

I would be keen to hear pros and cons and advise why I should lean towards a community resolution as opposed to proceed for a jury trial. In my opinion if you see the logic and factor in the law (Dogs Dangerously Out of Control (Section 3 Dangerous Dogs Act 1991) I don't see a reason why jury would decide in favour of the defendant. 

Have you sought advice on this? Who approached you?

Had I been offered this by the guy who hit me off my bike before his case went to court, I'd have refused.  As it was, the guy admitted all of the charges (about seven in all), said that he deeply regretted the incident (which I tend to believe) and was sentenced to a few months imprisonment/loss of driving licence etc. He appears to have sorted himself out for now as he's not been in the local news recently (beforehand he was frequently in the local "court round up") but I am not convinced that prison actually does any good. 

However, it appears in your case that the defendant has a lesson to learn and I'm not sure that an apology is the best way to go, sounds to me as though he's hoping to get off unscathed and without a criminal conviction.

At the end of the day. it's up to you. The CPS would not be prosecuting him if they didn't believe that they'd get a conviction.

elsien

With the trial there is always the chance that he could be found not guilty, although the CPS have to think there’s a reasonable chance of success to go ahead.
I suppose the question with community resolution is; do you think he’s learned anything about keeping his dog under control or is it still a risk to other people who accidentally go that way?
What would you want to achieve by taking either route?
It does read as though as though he thinks he’s not done anything wrong, but from his perspective how often do people wander down that raid? Perhaps that’s what he’s relying on? 

twister_teddy

olgadapolga said:

twister_teddy said:

Some of you might be following this and I thought I should update here. 

The defendant in this case pleaded not guilty at last magistrates court hearing. As such the case has been referred for a trial by jury at a crown court. I have since been approached and advised that defendant is now offering a community resolution and an settle the case outside the court. Please note at the beginning (before the matter went to court) I had given defendant a chance to offer a written apology which was refused.

Although a part of me think that I should accept the offer of a community resolution however I am not sure defendant took the matter seriously early in the process and understand the damage this caused to myself and my family. 

I would be keen to hear pros and cons and advise why I should lean towards a community resolution as opposed to proceed for a jury trial. In my opinion if you see the logic and factor in the law (Dogs Dangerously Out of Control (Section 3 Dangerous Dogs Act 1991) I don't see a reason why jury would decide in favour of the defendant. 

Have you sought advice on this? Who approached you?

However, it appears in your case that the defendant has a lesson to learn and I'm not sure that an apology is the best way to go, sounds to me as though he's hoping to get off unscathed and without a criminal conviction.

At the end of the day. it's up to you. The CPS would not be prosecuting him if they didn't believe that they'd get a conviction.

I was approached by victim support who I think have been approached by defendant's solicitor. Most likely defendant has been advised that there is little to no ground to stand on in front of the jury hence an out of court settlement would be less worse of an outcome at this stage. 

I have to add that up until recently defendant was pretty arrogant and ready to take up the fight thinking that the matter won't be taken seriously by either police or the courts. 

Given the arrogance I've been shown I'm not so keen to show leniency at this point and as such less inclined to believe that I would be doing justice to my self and family if I was to accept an out of court settlement. I sure would like to be compensated for the losses however more importantly I want to make sure that a lesson has been taught too and no one else goes through what I had to. 

twister_teddy

elsien said:

It does read as though as though he thinks he’s not done anything wrong, but from his perspective how often do people wander down that raid? Perhaps that’s what he’s relying on? 

Absolutely agree with your thought above. I think arrogance caused a bigger issue than ignorance here for defendant. 

HampshireH

twister_teddy said:

Some of you might be following this and I thought I should update here. 

The defendant in this case pleaded not guilty at last magistrates court hearing. As such the case has been referred for a trial by jury at a crown court. I have since been approached and advised that defendant is now offering a community resolution and an settle the case outside the court. Please note at the beginning (before the matter went to court) I had given defendant a chance to offer a written apology which was refused.

Although a part of me think that I should accept the offer of a community resolution however I am not sure defendant took the matter seriously early in the process and understand the damage this caused to myself and my family. 

I would be keen to hear pros and cons and advise why I should lean towards a community resolution as opposed to proceed for a jury trial. In my opinion if you see the logic and factor in the law (Dogs Dangerously Out of Control (Section 3 Dangerous Dogs Act 1991) I don't see a reason why jury would decide in favour of the defendant. 

The pros - you won't have to go through the stress of a trial and cross examination

The cons - the case won't go to trial and he won't ever be found guilty. He will always be able to say the accepted the community resolution to keep the peace despite it being an admission of guilt. Also little/no press.

Depends how you feel about having your day in court.

I expect he thought you wouldnt see it through hence his NG plea.

Now he has changed his mind now he realises what the consequences of a jury trial could be.

Momanns

I sure would like to be compensated for the losses however more importantly I want to make sure that a lesson has been taught too and no one else goes through what I had to. 

From the tone of your messages it's clear compensation if your main priority here. No judgement but take advice on whether a community resolution would impact a private injury claim. Compensation through the court is usually pretty small and does not represent a settlement for the injury you sustained.

es5595

I wouldn’t accept the community resolution suggestion, like you say, he had the opportunity to take this at the very first stage, and his arrogance and attitude made him refuse. 

Now he’s realised you’ll see this through, he’s also probably become aware of the high Likelihood of a criminal conviction, and is trying to worm out of it by any means he can. 

If he is found guilty in a criminal court, you have a very good basis to see civil damages afterwards, but I feel that actually you want him to amend his behaviour and actions more than you desire significant compensation, and the community resolution will definitely make him feel he “got away with it” and be very unlikely to change his behaviour

olgadapolga

Definitely sounds like he's trying to find the easiest - and cheapest - route out of this without tarnishing his record. I'd be inclined to say that I look forward to giving evidence in court. 

macman

What's more important to you? Him getting a criminal conviction and a fine and some minor damages awarded to you, or you getting greatercompo through a civil route (not that the two are mutually exclusive)?
The only person who can decide that is yourself.
Yes, it does seem obvious that until this was referred to the Crown Court for prosecution, they did not take the matter seriously. There is no other reason why they would now offer a community resolution.