Can I be sued if my dog causes an accident?
Justen Stoltenberg
2025-06-24 10:17:25
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: 15
If you own a dog, you have a responsibility to keep it under control. The law regarding dog attacks comes under the jurisdiction of the Dangerous Dogs Act, 1991. The first part of the act makes it a criminal offence to have your dog ‘dangerously out of control’ in a public space. ‘Dangerously out of control’ means if the dog causes injury to a person or an animal or a person to reasonably be scared that they will be attacked by the dog. In 2014, the Dangerous Dogs Act was amended to include dogs that are in private spaces as well as public. The use of dogs for guard dogs is now limited according to law changes, meaning that dog owners can be liable for the injury of people even if it bites a trespasser on their property. Some of the punishments that can be given to you if you fail to do this can include: Fines of up to £1,000, Control orders, Short custodial sentences – it carries up to 14 years imprisonment, Lifetime ban on dog ownership, The confiscation or destroying of the dog.
Henriette Mosciski
2025-06-16 03:12:23
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: 14
If your dog jumps up at, pushes over, trips, bites and hurts someone, you can expect trouble at the very least from a civil legal perspective. If the incident is reported to Police, depending on the severity of the incident and past canine history, your dog could be at risk of being put down if it is deemed dangerous by the courts. If your dog has caused harm to someone through not being under control, under the Animals Act 1979 the person who suffered the harm may be able to make a claim against you either to the dog’s insurer or directly against you if there is no insurance cover for the dog. There is a three stage test under this legislation to establish liability; The injury was likely to be severe; and that the injury was caused by a particular characteristic caused by a particular circumstances; and that the owner had knowledge of this characteristic. Sadly there will always be a few owners who fail to take sensible steps to avoid their dogs causing accidents. My team and I are experienced that lawyers have acted on dog accident claims with great success in what is a highly complex area.
Clementine Mann
2025-06-13 12:34:49
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: 9
Where damage is caused by an animal which does not belong to a dangerous species, a keeper of the animal is liable for the damage, except as otherwise provided by this act, if-a) the damage is of a kind which the animal, unless restrained, was likely to cause or which, if caused by the animal, was likely to be severe.
The test to satisfy Section 2(2)(a) is very much a test of fact and strictly speaking expert evidence is probably needed to establish any such likelihood.
Section 2(2)(b) has been a source of much case law which has frequently imposed a pretty strict interpretation and strict liability on the owners of non-dangerous animals which have acted in strange ways under particular circumstances.
For example a horse will not normally bolt, but it will if it is startled by a car horn and can cause severe damage when it does.
Strict liability for an animal belonging to a domesticated species will only arise if (1) the damage is caused by a dangerous characteristic (dangerous because of the likelihood that type of damage will be caused or, if caused, its likely severity), and (2) that characteristic deviates from the normal characteristics of that domesticated species, or (3) that domesticated species is itself dangerous insofar as it normally has that characteristic at particular times or in particular circumstances, and the damage was in fact caused at such a time or in such circumstances.
Oscar Hammes
2025-05-30 15:50:54
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: 10
If your dog, or any animal under your control, injures a person, another animal or destroys property, you may be liable for damages. This would be a civil claim and not necessarily a criminal offence, so the case would be between individuals. As a pet owner whose animal has damaged someone else’s property you may be liable in accordance with the principles of ‘common law negligence’. The law imposes a duty on any owner, or person responsible, to ensure that their animal isn’t likely to injure their neighbour. Someone who has been injured by your pet has three options to use in pursuing their claim against you: The Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 The Animals Act 1971 The Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. In addition to any criminal prosecution, victims also have the right to take out civil action against the dog’s owner for damages to themselves or their property.