Jerseygirl

Nice to see your photo back

Angry White Pyjamas

Well legally it is. You sue for losses. But the trouble is any lawyer wont stop there and before you know it its a full blown lawsuit causing allsorts of friction between neighbours.

Angry White Pyjamas

Ah thank you...im feeling more myself today.

Leslie

I'm sorry but I think that the negligence of the neighbor (allowing a vicious dog in the neighborhood) is what caused the friction.

If a neighbor hit your car and it was entirely their fault..... would you pay for the damages to avoid upsetting them?

jjmb

you may not have choice as the health company will require compensation from the person at fault's insurance if they have any. Anything that is out of the ordinary regarding a medical issue always leads to inquiries by the Health insurance people. Any compensation your receive is liable to be recovered by your health insurance up to the amount they paid out. Not all insurance companies do this but most will.


Our daughter was in serious car accident in 2001 and within a month of getting compensation for injuries (which wasn't a lot. considering she will have life time of back pain and a whole 24 hours of her life missing) the health insurance was demanding repayment.

Jerseygirl

I tend to think if the injuries are minor and the owner covers all medical costs and expenses and the dog has been put to sleep, I would leave it at that. However do you know how this attack will affect your wife in months/yrs to come? My MIL fell in a car park in the UK. The company's 1st aid person came to assist and insisted that she get up and sit on a chair whilst waiting for the ambulance to arrive. As soon as my MIL moved her foot she heard a loud crack. This resulted in an extremely bad broken ankle which she had to have surgery for. As a result from this surgery she developed thrombosis which on 2 occassions she almost died. She has a badly swollen leg, has to take Wharfrin for the rest of her life and has difficulty walking. All this as a result of a person giving her the wrong advice 15 yrs ago. At the time she didn't want to take legal action fearing that the person may lose their job but it has turned out to be a life shattering event not only for her but for her husband too.

theangells

My husband got bit by his friend's dog when he was visiting them last year, it wasn't bad, just had few bruises. We didn't press any charges since we love dogs and we knew that his friend would have to put his dog to sleep if we did since that wasn't the first time that dog bit someone. The year before that dog also bit one of his friend's son-in-laws and this kid sued him. His house insurance covered this claim and paid the son-in-law some money.

I'm not in favor of suing people personally, and I think it's just an accident and they already put the dog to sleep anyway. I think they don't call you and check how your wife is doing because they are afraid that you are going to sue them and bring them to court or something. For me, as long as everything is fine now I will just make peace with myself.

Rushman

I would send them a nice letter explaining that you are suprised at their lack of follow up concern for your wife after the attack and politely ask if they have any intention of paying your medical bills.
If you get no reply within 30 days......get a lawyer and nail them to the wall.

dunroving

In this instance the dog owner's reckless lack of responsibility following the previous incidents mean yes, I would definitely sue them. Of course, you may then feel like you have to move house.

ladylisa

Wow I've never heard of a Great Dane being vicious. What terrible owners they are. I'm annoyed that the neighbour set the dog on someone going through their garden, this makes me wonder how frightened they really are of law suits after all. Unless of course you cant be sued for someone being on your property, if so then these people sound a bit mean to me. I would definitely go after your medical costs but beyond that I'm not sure I would pursue it. Having said that I'm not the one that was attacked so I have no emotion in the decision. I know when my dog was attacked by another dog I was very angry and insisted the owner paid my vet expenses which they did, however I didnt take it further than that, as the owner was very apologetic. Do you think if you were to have a word with them and ask them to apologise to your wife that would help her?

Ray

Of course, and if you saw it happening to someone else you would have a duty to prevent any loss off life ..

scrubbedexpat099

[QUOTE=ladylisa]Wow I've never heard of a Great Dane being vicious. [QUOTE]

I am surprised as well, I have also never seen a bad Great Dane.

Anyway on to the issue at hand.

The Homeowners Liability section will respond to a claim against the dog owners as far as their liability is concerned, As has been pointed out the Medical Insurers will no doubt wish to subrogate their loss, assuming they know that such an option exists.

It is also normal for a Homeowners policy to have a No Fault Medical Costs section to cater for these sorts of situations, somebody has a minor accident oj your property and you want to pay, liable or otherwise. So their Insurers could pay minor costs without admitting liability.

Rushman

No such thing as a bad breed of dog, even pit bulls....just bad owners.

scrubbedexpat099

Generally I would agree with that, but some dogs have been bred too include all the worst features, and then you are asking for trouble. A bit like GW.

Rushman

What dogs were bred to include all the worse features? Do you mean a Pit Bull? The reason these dogs have a bad reputation can usually be seen just by looking at their owners. It's all too easy to get a bad reputation but very hard to get a good one.