Circumstances of claim
Candice owns a French bulldog. One of her neighbours owned a Shar pei. Her neighbour was walking his dog on the public street adjacent to Candice’s home. Her dog escaped into the street. Her dog faced off with the other dog. Candice went to retrieve her dog and the Shar pei bit her.
Candice suffered a serious injury to her arm as a result.
How we helped Candice
We intimated a claim to her neighbour. He referred the claim to his insurers. The claim was made under the Animals (Scotland) Act 1987. The Act provides for absolute liability on a dog owner if his or her dog attacks and injures any person. The Act provides for a limited defence if it can be shown that the Claimant in some way provoked the dog attack.
The insurers denied liability. We raised a Court action. The action went to trial on the issue of liability alone. In connection with the trial, we instructed Opinions from a Dog Behavioural Expert and a Forensic Vet. Candice was successful at trial.
We then instructed Reports from an Orthopaedic Surgeon/Plastic Surgeon/Psychiatrist/Care Needs Expert to quantify the claim. We then negotiated a settlement at £190,000.
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