Compensation claim news
12/06/2008

Can a dog that didn't bite be liable for personal injury?

An American case of personal injury resulting from a dog owner's negligence is currently exercising legal opinion in the US press, as the injury was only caused indirectly.

In this case, a teenager suffered a skull fracture while running from a rottweiler that had broken its chain - into a tree. Reports are unclear as to whether the skull fracture was received from hitting the tree, or from the pavement when the 17-year-old fell. However, there was no dog bite - indeed, some reports state that the dog simply licked the accident victim after the fall.

The boy is now stable in hospital, having suffered bleeding onto the brain. The dog's owner received a ticket for not having kept the dog behind a fence.

At least one personal injury lawyer believes that there may be the possibility to make an accident compensation claim for the skull fracture, as the Milwaukee dog bite law includes the phrase "for the full amount of damages caused by the dog injuring or causing injury to a person." Others feel that the causation may be too indirect.

The boy and his family, however, are yet to comment on their intentions of making a personal injury claim.