Claim for cyclist bitten by dog settles for £8,750

Boyd Rice Solicitors were instructed to act on behalf of Mr Win in relation to his personal injury claim. On the date of the incident our client was out for a cycle on his pushbike. He was cycling past a house with a concealed pillar at the entrance. As he cycled past the property he heard a dog chasing him. The dog bit his left leg. He pedaled as fast as possible. The dog then ran into the property. When he got off his bike he realised that there was blood from multiple puncture wounds on his left calf. He contacted his General Practitioner and was given antibiotics. He did not require stitches. There was swelling around the puncture marks.

Our client instructed us to seek compensation from the dog owner for the injuries sustained. He had already reported the incident to the local Council and therefore the first step in the investigation process was to make a freedom of information request to the Council requesting details of the dog owner. Once those details were confirmed we issued a letter of the claim to the dog owner however they did not respond.

We arranged a medical examination with a Consultant Plastic Surgeon and upon receipt of the medical report had to decide how best to proceed in light of the fact that the dog owner did not even respond to the letter. We were given authority by our client to issue Court proceedings against the dog owner. We served the proceedings and to our surprise, did not hear from either the dog owner, their pet insurer or their home insurer.

We then instructed a process server to personally serve the Court proceedings on the dog owner as it appeared that they were determined to evade service of proceedings. The process server certainly earned every penny of their fee as he was able to advise that he was met by two intimidating dogs as he walked up the driveway to give the dog owner the Civil Bill!

Shortly thereafter, at long last, we received confirmation that a Solicitor had been appointed by the dog owner’s insurance company and we successfully argued that liability clearly rested with the dog owner for our client’s injuries. The case was settled out of Court in our client’s favour in the sum of £8,750 plus his legal costs.

Neil McGranaghan was instructed in this case. Our client was asked for his comments following successful conclusion of his case and commented as follows:

I contacted Boyd Rice immediately after sustaining a dog bite while riding my bicycle about a half mile from my home in April 2020. My case was passed to Neil McGranaghan who was promptly in contact to procure the details of the incident. After assessing the details Neil believed there was a strong case for compensation and I instructed him to act on my behalf. An independent medical assessment was organised and performed and Neil contacted all relevant parties for information. The case was not straightforward in that the incident occurred during the first covid-19 lockdown making normal procedures and communications with third parties extremely difficult. The situation was complicated further when the owner of the dog in question remained completely unresponsive to all communications from Boyd Rice. At each step of the process Neil kept me informed about exactly what each course of action was, how long each step might take and the time-frame to wait before proceeding to the next step in the plan. Neil was also completely transparent and kept me informed of the pro’s and con’s in pursuing a case against an owner who was determined to avoid responsibility and gave me his professional opinion at each stage on the likelihood of a favourable outcome. After many months of silence from the dog owner Neil and I made the decision to issue notice of formal court proceedings. Once again after a period of non-responsiveness by the dog owner, Neil decided to serve the notice of court proceedings via a formal process server. This strategy worked and the owner contacted their insurance company and appropriate parties were appointed to deal with the matter. Not long thereafter, the case was settled strongly in my favour, greatly exceeding expectations. I am very grateful to Neil and Boyd Rice, not just for taking on my case but for having the expertise and strategy to work through the difficulties encountered that ultimately led to a good outcome.

If you have been bitten by a dog you can pursue a claim for damages against the dog owner. Please contact us by phone on 02891 817715 or by email claims@boydricesolicitors.com