£17k for woman knocked over by a greyhound dog
Our client, Mrs B was walking her dog when she was struck on her left upper shin by a greyhound moving at speed. She was knocked off her feet and suffered a cut to her eyebrow and a fractured shinbone. She underwent surgery to have a metal plate inserted to fix the shinbone and began physiotherapy sessions. Within six months she was able to walk fully again.
However six months after the initial accident she slipped and fell on some grass fracturing her left ankle. She underwent an operation to fix this and was placed in a below-knee cast.
Following the initial accident our client suffered a reduction in agility and response in her left leg leaving her more susceptible to injury again. We were able to establish a link between the second injury and the initial accident.
We made a claim against the owner of the greyhound in negligence on the basis that an owner of a big, fast dog should reasonably foresee damage being done if it was not properly controlled. The defendant had allowed to dog to run without a lead, failed to have the dog properly trained and exposed our client to a foreseeable risk.
The dog itself was not a dangerous species, so Boyes Turner's personal injury team claimed under Section 2 of the Animals Act 1971 that the dog had particular mischievous and lively nature that the owner was fully aware of.
The defendants denied liability from the outset, they then made an offer to settle the claim on a 50/50 basis. Our team refused their offer and the claim eventually settled on a full liability basis for £17k.
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