My dog bit someone's finger through the letter box,now im being sued?

MARC T

He will be attempting to sue you probably under the provisions of occupier's liability legislation.

Anybody who has control over property has a legal duty of care to ensure that the property is reasonably safe for anybody on the property whether they have a legal right or not. The officer did have a legal right to be there, anyone has the right to deliver a leaflet through your door (provided they havn't been specifically prohibited).

The basis of the claim in negligence is that you did not take reasonable care to prevent your dog from causing injury to anybody using your letterbox for proper purposes. I dont agree with the other comments that you shouldn't need to put your fingers throught the letterbox, I certainly do just to make sure that it has got through the bristles and is on the otherside of the door.

I would imagine that there is very precise case law on this subject, case law which is not in your favour. The fact that a firm of solicitors has taken the case on a no win-no fee contract would certainly suggest that they at least believe the case is fairly strong.

In terms of what the claim is likely to amount to financially, it is difficult to say without knowing the extent of the injuries. If he had to have time off work then he will be sueing for loss of earnings and in any personal injury calim there will be a claim for pain and suffering and loss of amenity. So although the claim does seem frivolous, the total claim could be a financial blow.

I would seriously suggest getting proper legal advice. You can enter into a no win no fee agreement to defend a claim and many firms operate a free or fixed fee first interview policy.

I really hope that the claim is dropped and I wish you the best of luck.

Philip H Â©

The best thing to do would be to report the story to your local newspaper, they love this sort of thing. Show him up for the snake he is.

vinny_defalco

I am assuming by letter box you mean a slot in the door. Well it seems strange that the cop had to stick his hand in far enough to drop the leaflet that the dog was able to bite him. I mean I don't think a dog could shove his face far enough out to be able to bite anyone. Find out if the cop had medical bills proving he was actually bitten and didn't just jump back and catch his finger on the slot.

Hedge Witch

Go to your ownb no win no fee solicitor - you probably have as much chance of winnong as this rotter has.
What a mean thing to do - after all, he WAS invading your dog's territory!

taxed till i die,

Your Dog was doing what he should do,Protecting your property,Maybe a notice on your door saying beware of the dog might help.Don't worry about it.In fact give your dog a biscuit and say good boy.Well done.

POOH

Sue him for tresspassing. After all, u didnt invite him into yr front garden. His claim is pathetic, make yrs just as pathetic and see how far he gets. Involve yr local paper, they'll have a field day on this story.

Carol1841

To be honest, it was his own fault because posting something through a letterbox should not involve putting your finger through as well! You are certainly not to blame for this and your dog was on his own territory so the policeman is the one who has a lesson to learn - keep fingers out. Has your dog ever bitten the postman? I imagine not, and to be honest, I would seek legal advice on where you stand. Just be careful that he doesn't use his position to try and beat you down. The citizen's advice is probably your best bet as they don't charge a fee.

Good luck - I'm sure you haven't anything to worry about though.

Likely Story

Did he have a right to deliver the leaflets to begin with?
Was he doing it as official duty of his job or on his own?
You need to get answers before the action so you know what the law is and how it applies to the case.

wpgeezer

You said "suing us for damages" How much damage can there be? Does he still have the finger? You may have to pay medical expenses. Get a lawyer, a hand in the mailbox can be called trespassing. Entry is anywhere past the door. Leaflets can be put in the box without putting your hand in it. A good lawyer can make the case that they were teasing the dog through the door so they could try to sue you. The case need not go to court if you counter sue for trespassing. The police took no more action because they didn't have a case.

elzosmid

Your dog can only have bit him if his fingers were sticking through the letterbox, that is: inside your house. Tell them that if they follow through, you will search to sue him for unlawful entry or something like that.
God knows what he was trying to do with his fingers through the letterbox. Something that made your dog act very unusual.

joan k

It sounds like he is trying it on. Were they Police leaflets, or was he doing something in his own time for something else?. We had a strange incident where somebody put their hand through our letterbox late at night and my Husband grabbed the hand and the guy who turned out to be a Policeman bashed his face on the door. Our solicitor said he didn't have a case as he had no right to put his hand through the letterbox. Never did find out why he did it.

Tha Phuncky Feel One

The copper was on/in your property when he wasn't invited. This should be the line of defence you pursue. And yes, get yourself lawyered up as soon as possible and fight fire with fire.

You might want to think very carefully about whether the copper antagonized your dog in anyway. Know what I mean? Why on earth were his fingers inside the letterbox? I reckon he was trying to goad your dog so f**k him, he got what he deserved.

Email me to let me know how it all turns out.

Bardic

It's clearly just a try-on. Saying that if you covered up the letter box the police would take no action is spurious - the fact that the police are disassociating themselves from it proves the point.

Don't respond until you've taken advice, the CAB would be helpful but a solicitor would be even better, and most of them will give you an initial interview free of charge.

My view would be let's see the injury, let's see the proof it was our dog, and even if it was, why were his fingers inside the letterbox? Do take advice first, though.

GeordiesMrs

He shouldn't of been putting his fingers in your letter box, i'd say thats 50/50. He should of been more cautious. . . .

stanthemansmum

This is a try on. There was a case in the Isle of Sheppey a few years ago where a boy got badly savaged by two dogs after he climbed a 6 foot fence into someone's private garden to get his ball back. The boy was found negligent for climbing into private property. The dogs were secure and no danger for anyone going about their lawful business. The boys should have knocked on the door and asked for the ball back. Same sort of thing. It is not reasonable to expect someone to put their hand through your letter box. If they did, tough!

If you are worried, ring someone like the Dogs Protection Trust or RSPCA who will tell you your rights and how to deal with this. They get many calls regarding this sort of thing.

robert c

Now!If you had bit the policemans finger!That would have been a story to write home about!

groovymaude

Your postie obviously manages to negotiate your 'perilous' letter box every day! How ridiculous, it's what dogs do! maybe not all but a fair proportion of them, mine do it! Counterclaim - for littering, do we want all this rubbish putting through our doors? menus, flyers, plastic charity bags.......I certainly don't!

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