Personal Injury Claim
Discussion
Received a solicitors letter yesterday 'Protocol letter of claim' for a delivery driver that fell over when she ran away from our dog that went to say hello, he went out from our garden gate as my wife was coming in and into the street where her van was parked...Apparently, she was frightened and ran away, then fell over. My wife went back to the road to ask if she was OK. She seemed fine but asked for my wife's name and address...
Roll on a couple of months and we receive a solicitors letter claiming for loss of earnings, stress, mental anxiety, increased anxiety around dogs, hospital treatment for a wrist injury that was inconclusive via xray and a phone that 'no longer works'
I have video footage of our dog in the garden, then going out of the gate as my wife (who was out at the time) came back in. The 'interaction with our dog was behind the van and out of sight but within 5 seconds, he reappeared from behind the van and was quite happily sniffing the hedgerow.
This personal injury claim is giving me nightmares.....our dog is friendly, we have video footage of her 'falling over' but only from behind the van, and then for at least 10 minutes, interacting with a phone that apparently 'no longer works.
From our point of view, both my wife and myself are in our 60s, the house is a rented council house (I know, proper council!) and we have limited income.
Do I need a solicitor to defend this, how can a person claim against us, what does this person hope to gain and should we be concerned?
Roll on a couple of months and we receive a solicitors letter claiming for loss of earnings, stress, mental anxiety, increased anxiety around dogs, hospital treatment for a wrist injury that was inconclusive via xray and a phone that 'no longer works'
I have video footage of our dog in the garden, then going out of the gate as my wife (who was out at the time) came back in. The 'interaction with our dog was behind the van and out of sight but within 5 seconds, he reappeared from behind the van and was quite happily sniffing the hedgerow.
This personal injury claim is giving me nightmares.....our dog is friendly, we have video footage of her 'falling over' but only from behind the van, and then for at least 10 minutes, interacting with a phone that apparently 'no longer works.
From our point of view, both my wife and myself are in our 60s, the house is a rented council house (I know, proper council!) and we have limited income.
Do I need a solicitor to defend this, how can a person claim against us, what does this person hope to gain and should we be concerned?
Do you have house insurance, this may include personal liability insurance and legal cover.
Do you still work and if so does your employer have a workforce legal assistance program (my wife’s does for example and she is using it to sue someone who was operating an illegal HMO she was renting a room in with the landlord not correctly protecting the deposit)
Do you need a solicitor, I don’t know sorry AGTLaw on here maybe willing to help guide you or at least point you to a specialist solicitor in the field.
My guess would be yes you need a solicitor though.
Do you still work and if so does your employer have a workforce legal assistance program (my wife’s does for example and she is using it to sue someone who was operating an illegal HMO she was renting a room in with the landlord not correctly protecting the deposit)
Do you need a solicitor, I don’t know sorry AGTLaw on here maybe willing to help guide you or at least point you to a specialist solicitor in the field.
My guess would be yes you need a solicitor though.
You ask: "how can a person claim against us, what does this person hope to gain and should we be concerned?"
They can claim your dog was out of control and caused distress/injury.
You admit that the dog left your garden, went behind the van where the driver was and that the driver subsequently fell. Albeit no interaction between dog/driver was filmed, but you/your wife were aware of a problem as your wife went back to enquire if the driver was OK.
You ask what this person hopes to gain - most likely a financial settlement
Is anything stated in the letter you received in respect of this?
Poster above mentioned home insurance, but before that recommend looking at the T&C's of your pet insurance as it's more likely that a pet policy includes legal cover relevant to this situation.
From the information given you probably need to get advice from a solicitor of your own; both to review the letter sent and respond on your behalf.
They can claim your dog was out of control and caused distress/injury.
You admit that the dog left your garden, went behind the van where the driver was and that the driver subsequently fell. Albeit no interaction between dog/driver was filmed, but you/your wife were aware of a problem as your wife went back to enquire if the driver was OK.
You ask what this person hopes to gain - most likely a financial settlement
Is anything stated in the letter you received in respect of this?
Poster above mentioned home insurance, but before that recommend looking at the T&C's of your pet insurance as it's more likely that a pet policy includes legal cover relevant to this situation.
From the information given you probably need to get advice from a solicitor of your own; both to review the letter sent and respond on your behalf.
Edited by OzzyR1 on Sunday 17th August 04:06
silvagod said:
Received a solicitors letter yesterday 'Protocol letter of claim' for a delivery driver that fell over when she ran away from our dog that went to say hello, he went out from our garden gate as my wife was coming in and into the street where her van was parked...Apparently, she was frightened and ran away, then fell over. My wife went back to the road to ask if she was OK. She seemed fine but asked for my wife's name and address...
Roll on a couple of months and we receive a solicitors letter claiming for loss of earnings, stress, mental anxiety, increased anxiety around dogs, hospital treatment for a wrist injury that was inconclusive via xray and a phone that 'no longer works'
I have video footage of our dog in the garden, then going out of the gate as my wife (who was out at the time) came back in. The 'interaction with our dog was behind the van and out of sight but within 5 seconds, he reappeared from behind the van and was quite happily sniffing the hedgerow.
This personal injury claim is giving me nightmares.....our dog is friendly, we have video footage of her 'falling over' but only from behind the van, and then for at least 10 minutes, interacting with a phone that apparently 'no longer works.
From our point of view, both my wife and myself are in our 60s, the house is a rented council house (I know, proper council!) and we have limited income.
Do I need a solicitor to defend this, how can a person claim against us, what does this person hope to gain and should we be concerned?
What kind of dog? Big difference between a cavvy / lab vs a bully xl / mastiff / Doberman.Roll on a couple of months and we receive a solicitors letter claiming for loss of earnings, stress, mental anxiety, increased anxiety around dogs, hospital treatment for a wrist injury that was inconclusive via xray and a phone that 'no longer works'
I have video footage of our dog in the garden, then going out of the gate as my wife (who was out at the time) came back in. The 'interaction with our dog was behind the van and out of sight but within 5 seconds, he reappeared from behind the van and was quite happily sniffing the hedgerow.
This personal injury claim is giving me nightmares.....our dog is friendly, we have video footage of her 'falling over' but only from behind the van, and then for at least 10 minutes, interacting with a phone that apparently 'no longer works.
From our point of view, both my wife and myself are in our 60s, the house is a rented council house (I know, proper council!) and we have limited income.
Do I need a solicitor to defend this, how can a person claim against us, what does this person hope to gain and should we be concerned?
Is your dog insured if so public liability normally included.
CanAm said:
Your home contents insurance will include Personal Liability cover. Failing that, in the first instance try the Citizens Advice Bureau.
Yup, fingers crossed you have contents cover. If so, just contact them and they will take it all over. Re the claim itself, it's a slam dunk. 100% on you.
119 said:
It seems odd she asked for her name and address whilst delivering to the name and address!
Does seem quite calculated to ask for name/address. Almost like a crash for cash thing.No report to Police by he and letter not from her employer or Employer's legal.
Sounds like pure money grabbing to me.
Does Google tell you if this is a "thing"?
loskie said:
Sounds like pure money grabbing to me.
Of course, it's a typical symptom of the compensation culture we took from America. I hope the solicitors involved go to hell.I can't advise you on the legalities but it's tempting to consider that you could visit her house, accidentally fall over, counter-claim and see how she likes it.
What many dog owners don't seem to understand is not everyone likes dogs, and some people are terrified of them.
My cousin had half her nose ripped off by a dog in a park when she was 11, she is 72 now. The dog was "only playing" and had never done that before.
My postman has just come back to work after six weeks after being bitten by a dog when he opened their gate.
Hopefully the OP has decent insurance and the woman is OK and not trying to pull a "fast one"
My cousin had half her nose ripped off by a dog in a park when she was 11, she is 72 now. The dog was "only playing" and had never done that before.
My postman has just come back to work after six weeks after being bitten by a dog when he opened their gate.
Hopefully the OP has decent insurance and the woman is OK and not trying to pull a "fast one"
If you have Pet Insurance there will usually be a liability section.
I think that the key points are that this type of incident has never happened before, the time of the delivery was not known to the houseowner and, most importantly, the accident occurred away from the house owners property and a delivery driver must expect that some dogs will be around, it is part of the job.
It will be down to the injured person to prove negligence.
I think that the key points are that this type of incident has never happened before, the time of the delivery was not known to the houseowner and, most importantly, the accident occurred away from the house owners property and a delivery driver must expect that some dogs will be around, it is part of the job.
It will be down to the injured person to prove negligence.
K87 said:
...and, most importantly, the accident occurred away from the house owners property and a delivery driver must expect that some dogs will be around, it is part of the job.
Delivery drivers should not need to expect dogs will be around - not on a lead and not controlled by their owners - on the road away from the actual property.TwigtheWonderkid said:
bennno said:
What kind of dog? Big difference between a cavvy / lab vs a bully xl / mastiff / Doberman.
How so? Do you fall over worse because your terrified of a Doberman as opposed to being terrified of a toy poodle with bows in it's fur? Gassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff