by alyssag10 » Sun Mar 14, 2010 12:36 pm
My neighbor hit my dog who was in the street; her electric colar failed. We do not have a leash law in this town. Is her car insurance required to pay the $5k in vet bills?
Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 01:45 pm Post Subject:
Ok, first of all, I'm really sorry about your dog...I'm a HUGE dog person...but...
Is her car insurance required to pay the $5k in vet bills?
Are you kidding me? What did she do wrong? Your dog, your responsiblity, in fact you will (most likely) owe for the damage done to her vehicle.Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 02:50 pm Post Subject:
is this your opinion or do you actually have any knowledge on the subject. It was an attorney who suggested their insurance will pay for it.
Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 02:56 pm Post Subject:
is this your opinion or do you actually have any knowledge on the subject.
Both, I've been a claims adjuster (P&C) for over 20years. I have handled in that amount of time oh, I'd guess maybe 20 or so dog hits, that the owner was known...each one of them our insured was paid under they comprehensive coverage and the dog owners were subrogated, for the damage to the vehicle. In NONE of the claims were the dog owners paid for the damage to their dog..Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 03:00 pm Post Subject:
thanks for the info. Two attorney's told me that the insurance company may have to pay because we do not have a leash law in this town. We'll see what happens.
Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 04:20 pm Post Subject:
Not having a leash law does not mean you don't need to maintain control of your animal. Think about that. For example, your dog has an electric collar... why? because the owner is responsible for the dogs care and actions. If your dog gets out and bites someone, you'd probably be responsible. If your dog gets out and damages a vehicle, you'd probably be responsible.
Not having a leash law also does not automatically make other people liable. The operator owes reasonable care in the use of their vehicle Was there anything they could have done to avoid the dog? I'm guessing by the nature of dogs, that the dog darted out in front of the vehicle and that the driver probably had no chance to avoid the dog. If so, no liability against the vehicle operator as there was no negligence. Again, it's not automatic.
Sometimes bad things happen.
How many dog liability cases have these two attorneys handled?
Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2010 10:57 am Post Subject:
How many dog liability cases have these two attorneys handled?
:lol: :lol: :lol:I might add, and thought it was inferred maybe not...I've handled 100's of vehicle's hitting dog(s) claims...but only a small handful were the owners KNOWN..funny how some people don't claim their poor injured or deceased dog, when they think they may have to pay...:x
Aly, you might want to let your HO carrier know what happened..you may have some coverage under your liability portion if the vehicle owner comes back to you for payment.
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