Over £7,000 in compensation for dog attack

Mrs P was delivering leaflets to houses in the area and was intending to open the garden gate when a dog suddenly jumped up from behind the gate and bit her on the forehead and right eyebrow.

Before this happened, the Claimant had not been aware of the dog’s presence and there had been no warning on the gate.

The owner’s insurers denied liability on the strange basis that the Mrs P was a trespasser, and that the dog’s owner had no prior experience of the dog behaving aggressively.

Mrs P had required 15 stitches and given the severity of the case we were not prepared to accept the insurer’s stance.

After much argument the insurers accepted responsibility and made an initial offer of £4,250. We rejected that and were able to negotiate a settlement of £7,250.

Read more about animal injury claims.