Dog bit my son and is now terrified of dogs - can I sue?

Unicorn79

My son was bitten by a large dog which was an unprovoked attacked.  The bite left a mark and was on my sons back as luckily he turned else it would have been his face.

I reported it to the Police and they gave the owner a rule to keep his dog on a lead and wear a muzzle when out.

This happened over a year ago and still now my son is scared of dogs.  If out with dogs running around off the lead he goes into a panic attack, and if an owner with a big dog walks past he will walk to get out of the dogs way whether or not if this is into other people, in a road or other.  So the psychological damage is great here.  My son is 7.  He is fine with dogs he knows.  I feel he needs some sort of specialist therapy to work on this.  Can I sue the owner for this?  How would this work?  I have the photo evidence and the doctor saw the mark and of course the police was involved.

Views very welcome.

Unicorn79

The dog was fairly large - a labradoodle.  So my son is scared of large dogs, as well as dogs with the 'poodle eyes' which are hugely popular.  The bit was a 'pinch', not a huge bite which drew blood, but left a 2 inch diameter pinch/red/bruised mark.  The funds I am looking for would be needed to cover therapy now needed.

[Deleted User]

What support has your GP offered? Use the no- cost options first.

elsien

My guess is you would need to evidence why your son needs specialist therapy. What help have you asked for so far to deal with this? As zx81 says, what has his GP said? What are you doing on a day to day basis to help him to manage his fears? 

Unicorn79

Thank you.  I've been doing lots of work with him and others too, he is fine with smaller dogs, and certainly dogs he knows.  He had another distinct panic moment when I had to knock on our neighbours for a parcel, they have 2 large dogs and my son would not go with me and was highly panicked.  AT one point he would not even go into the garden when they were in there.  I have not sought any professional help yet, but remember I was sent a victims support letter from the police so might call them tomorrow, I have not been to the GP as not thought of it, but now I am now thinking the waiting list would be high.  I'm not sure what the victims hub could offer me?  Happy to go to the GP, but just know the assistance wouldn't be immediate and he would not be high priority.

Brie

Is there any counselling available through your work or his school??  Certainly the GP is another alternative but may be a while getting anything sorted that way.  What about through any insurance policy you might have (there are endless odd add ins on some).  Frankly I don't think that suing will get you anywhere and in any case that may take years.

Lateral thought.....would your neighbour with the large dogs be able/willing to help?  If he's ok with dogs he knows then maybe he can get to know these dogs as a step to being happy in any dog's company?  This would work well if the dogs are well trained in general and would sit/not bark on command when out in the park.  Maybe sitting in the park some distance away while the dogs sit there quietly.  And then learning to approach them cautiously.  Talking with the neighbour about why dogs bark or jump at people etc etc....

We used to have a dog that had bit people or bark at them as it's breed was such that it was highly protective of us.  We were aware of this and did our best to manage the dog to prevent any negative situations.  It was always a shock to us if someone approached rapidly and we warned them off but they continued and would try to pat the dog, invariably stating "I'm really good with dogs!" just before the dog would react. 

I'm not in any way saying that your son did anything remotely like this but learning that all dogs have personalities and breed traits might help him regain his confidence around them.

elsien

I think the fact that your son is ok with some dogs isn’t going to help prove your case. If he’ll now go into the garden when he wouldn’t before, for example then something is working albeit very slowly. 

 Do you know any calm large dogs you could use as stooge dogs, starting at a safe distance on lead  then gradually moving closer. 

Also wondering, as there will be other children scared of dogs as well, whether the school would get on board with any sessions?

https://www.learnwithdogstrust/

PS if an off lead dog is approaching your child then feel free to call to the owner in a way that’s not going to freak your son out any more, to keep it away. Responsible dog owners should know better, and irresponsible ones need telling. 

Savvy_Sue

I've been thinking about this, and feel that suing the owner won't get you help any time soon, if ever, so exploring the suggestions already made is the way to go: the GP, the school, owners of dogs he can already tolerate, that link from elsien. It sounds as if you've already made a good start.

Also, others will know better than me, but you might be able to identify techniques which professionals working with children might use to overcome extreme anxiety. For an adult, CBT might be suggested, and there are online resources for that.

I'm just wondering if your Health Visitor would be worth a call? They may say your son is too old for their direct intervention, but they may have suggestions.

I'm thinking for example of parenting courses I've done: I'm not suggesting you are making things worse, but you must be worried, and sometimes our reactions cross over to our children. 

Savvy_Sue

elsien said:

I think the fact that your son is ok with some dogs isn’t going to help prove your case. If he’ll now go into the garden when he wouldn’t before, for example then something is working albeit very slowly. 

 Do you know any calm large dogs you could use as stooge dogs, starting at a safe distance on lead  then gradually moving closer. 

Also wondering, as there will be other children scared of dogs as well, whether the school would get on board with any sessions?

https://www.learnwithdogstrust/

PS if an off lead dog is approaching your child then feel free to call to the owner in a way that’s not going to freak your son out any more, to keep it away. Responsible dog owners should know better, and irresponsible ones need telling. 

I'm not sure elsien's link works, try this: https://www.learnwithdogstrust.org.uk/

maisie_cat

I was bitten by an German Shephard when I was about 8 and was scared of dogs for many years. When I was 27 I had a neighbour with a few large dogs and go so used to them that I am no longer afraid. I wish I'd known somebody with a large dog when I was a child, I'd have been scared for far less time. Perhaps follow Elsien's advice about a stooge dog, it cannot hurt.
in terms of suing the owner, you would firstly have to prove that the dog had bitten somebody before rather than the incident being out of character.

ladyholly

It might be worth approaching a local dog trainer or behaviourist  to see if they have any ideas (possibly attending puppy training with your son  where there will be bigger breeds but they are fairly small generally. I dont know if this would be possible due to insurance etc.)  Alternatively see if you can enlist the help  of local dog owners - there may be a facebook group in your area. I have many times sat with worried children with my little dog and then worked up to the bigger ones.