Dog walker injury claim success
If you would like to know more about making a dog walker injury claim on a No Win, No Fee basis then contact our specialist team for a free case assessment on freephone 0808 139 1606 or by emailing us at [email protected]
J was an employed dog walker who had been bitten by a dog while she was working.
She had only been in the job for a short period when she was bitten by one of the dogs she was exercising for her employer. She originally tried to deal with the claim herself, pursuing her employer for compensation as she had been injured in the course of her work. However her employer’s insurers strenuously denied legal liability, saying that the employer had not been negligent, that she had been provided with adequate training and that she was, in any event, an experienced dog walker.
After struggling with the insurers for a long time J got in touch with us as she had seen that we specialise in claims arising from dog bites and felt that she was now out of her depth. It was almost 3 years since she had been injured so we needed to act urgently as court proceedings must be issued by the third anniversary of an injury.
We reviewed the correspondence and documents. We believed that the best way forward was to bring a claim against the dog owner under a piece of legislation called the Animals Act. This Act imposes ‘strict liability’ upon owners, which means that you do not need to prove that someone has been negligent.
We therefore took the case on, agreeing to work on a No Win, No Fee basis, and issued court proceedings, both to progress the case and to protect J in relation to the time limit for making a claim. At the same time we arranged for J to be examined by medical experts – a plastic surgeon and a psychologist – who prepared reports about the injuries she had sustained as a result of the dog bite.
The dog owner’s solicitors continued to deny responsibility, filing a Defence at court blaming J for getting bitten. However, we strongly believed that our analysis of the law was correct and were happy to continue to trial on a No Win, No Fee basis.
Ultimately our persistence paid off. The dog owner’s insurance company made an offer to settle. We felt that the sum offered was not enough, but after a period of negotiation they agreed to increase their offer to a level that we were happy to recommend J to accept.
If you are looking for solicitors who are experienced in dealing with dog walker injury claims on a No Win, No Fee basis then contact us for a free case assessment on freephone 0808 139 1606 or by emailing us at [email protected]