My mother has received a summons over an alleged dog bite

gosnold

Last may my mother was walking her dog (a springer cross). He was not on a lead. One minute he was fine the next a small child approx 4 years old appeared out of nowhere with a toy frisbee and her dog tried to get it off him. In doing so the dog jumped up on the child & bruised his leg. To this day there is no proof/evidence that the dog bit the child. The childs parents presented medical bills which my mother paid. But the gardai told her that the matter would have to proceed to court. Now she has received a summons to appear in court next month. What I want to know is will she need legal representation and what can she expect to happen? She still has the dog & the dog warden has not contacted her at all about the incident. Any advice would be appreciated.

Victor

You need to talk to a solicitor.

You need to find out if there is a medical report stating / showing a dog bite.

gosnold

Thanks for your response. My mother doesn't think she needs a solicitor but I will have to talk to her on that one. I have already raised the point you made about medical evidence of a bite with her but my mother didn't pursue it with the childs parents as she didn't want to antagonise the situation. All she saw was the medical bill and a picture of what we had to assume was the child's leg which showed a bruise and nothing more, no puncture mark or anything

SATSUMA

gosnold wrote: »

Last may my mother was walking her dog (a springer cross). He was not on a lead. One minute he was fine the next a small child approx 4 years old appeared out of nowhere with a toy frisbee and her dog tried to get it off him. In doing so the dog jumped up on the child & bruised his leg. To this day there is no proof/evidence that the dog bit the child. The childs parents presented medical bills which my mother paid. But the gardai told her that the matter would have to proceed to court. Now she has received a summons to appear in court next month. What I want to know is will she need legal representation and what can she expect to happen? She still has the dog & the dog warden has not contacted her at all about the incident. Any advice would be appreciated.

If a summons has been received then your mother should chose whether she accepts or defends the claim. The summons states clearly the cause of action ie, why the other party are taking her to court and what remedy they require ie damages ect. She needs to go to her solicitor with the summons. If she chooses to defend then the solicitor will prepare a defence for the court hearing and write to the opposing party's solicitor outlining that defence. The other party are probably claiming personal injury on behalf of the minor. They have two years to do this. The fact that your mum paid medical bills will be considered. The fact the dog wasnt on a lead could be a problem, all dogs should be on a lead when in public. Does the dog have a licene? All dogs must have a licence. It's hopeful that the dog did not bite as such, if it did you're in big trouble as the dog will then fall in the realm of the dangerous dog's act which has it's own set of consequences. The end point is, she needs legal advice so that her case may be prepared. PS- This advice is merely opinion only it's best to see an expert!

cushtac

SATSUMA wrote: »

The fact the dog wasnt on a lead could be a problem, all dogs should be on a lead when in public.

AFAIK, unless the local authority has a bye-law stating that dogs need to be on a leash in a specified place, the only legal requirement is that the dog be kept under effective control.

gosnold

Satsuma thanks for your advice. I have asked my mother to let me have a look at the summons to see exactly what it says. I don't believe this is a personal injury claim instigated by the childs parents. I am from a claims background so would be au-fait with the system. She has never received a solicitors letter. Thats not to say she won't of course. When the incident occured the parents said all they wanted was for the medical bills to be paid which was done. The dog does have a licence. The dog should have been on a lead & this incident would never have happened if he had been. But he is springer cross, hardly considered dangerous. Has never shown aggression but is a bit boisterous. What annoyed me about this was the fact that a 4 year old was left unsupervised, was not that near his house when this occured & neither of the parents appeared until long after the incident occured. I asked my mother to ask the gardai who is pursuing the matter & she was told that it was the gardai themselves that are bringing her to court. We are at a bit of a loss really. As I said the dog warden has never made any contact.

NUTLEY BOY

gosnold wrote: »

Satsuma thanks for your advice. I have asked my mother to let me have a look at the summons to see exactly what it says. I don't believe this is a personal injury claim instigated by the childs parents. I am from a claims background so would be au-fait with the system. She has never received a solicitors letter. Thats not to say she won't of course. When the incident occured the parents said all they wanted was for the medical bills to be paid which was done. The dog does have a licence. The dog should have been on a lead & this incident would never have happened if he had been. But he is springer cross, hardly considered dangerous. Has never shown aggression but is a bit boisterous. What annoyed me about this was the fact that a 4 year old was left unsupervised, was not that near his house when this occured & neither of the parents appeared until long after the incident occured. I asked my mother to ask the gardai who is pursuing the matter & she was told that it was the gardai themselves that are bringing her to court. We are at a bit of a loss really. As I said the dog warden has never made any contact.

Your Ma's insurance company will love her for paying the medical bills if the parents decide that the recession is a good time to claim money and it all gets a bit formal......

She did notify her insurance company didn't she ?

nuac

Your mother really should see a solicitor about this

The summons is I presume a prosecution under the Control of Dogs Act for having a dog out of control. Section 9. Max fine €1900. If convicted whoever is taking the prosecution i.e. Council or Gardai may follow on with an application under section 22 to have the dog put down.

further the child's parents may take an action for damages.

Good luck

Thoie

NUTLEY BOY wrote: »

Your Ma's insurance company will love her for paying the medical bills if the parents decide that the recession is a good time to claim money and it all gets a bit formal......

She did notify her insurance company didn't she ?

Sorry, don't mean to hijack, but this has come up a few times - what insurance company are you talking about here? Are we obliged to have personal liability insurance? I know I'm obliged by law to have motor insurance. If I owned a shop, for example, I think I'd be obliged to have public liability insurance. But as just an ordinary joe soap, are there other insurances that I must have?

kaiser sauze

SATSUMA wrote: »

If a summons has been received then your mother should chose whether she accepts or defends the claim. The summons states clearly the cause of action ie, why the other party are taking her to court and what remedy they require ie damages ect. She needs to go to her solicitor with the summons. If she chooses to defend then the solicitor will prepare a defence for the court hearing and write to the opposing party's solicitor outlining that defence. The other party are probably claiming personal injury on behalf of the minor. They have two years to do this. The fact that your mum paid medical bills will be considered. The fact the dog wasnt on a lead could be a problem, all dogs should be on a lead when in public. Does the dog have a licene? All dogs must have a licence. It's hopeful that the dog did not bite as such, if it did you're in big trouble as the dog will then fall in the realm of the dangerous dog's act which has it's own set of consequences. The end point is, she needs legal advice so that her case may be prepared. PS- This advice is merely opinion only it's best to see an expert!

There is no law stating that dogs must be on a lead. The law says that dogs must be under the owners' control, which in this case, it was not.

Maximilian

No legal advice.