Our solicitors win compensation for mental injuries suffered by a mother who witnessed a dog attack on her daughter
We represent dog attack victims nationwide on a no win, no fee basis, recovering compensation for those suffering mental injuries as well as those who are physically injured. Contact us for a free case assessment.
We have recently recovered compensation for a mother who witnessed a horrific dog attack on her young daughter.
The mother and daughter had gone to their local park. A woman walking her dog told them that it would be fine to stroke her dog and give it some treats. However, without any warning the dog bit the young girls head, causing awful injuries. The mother had to fight to get the dog off her daughter and then had to deal with the traumatic aftermath.
The mother approached us about dealing with a compensation claim for her daughter which of course we were happy to do on a no win, no fee basis. During the course of that claim we discovered that the mother herself had suffered serious mental injuries in the dog attack. She had not only developed post traumatic stress disorder but was now so disturbed by the sight of blood it made it difficult for her to carry on working as a midwife. We therefore agreed to pursue a claim for the mother as well, also working on a no win, no fee basis.
Although the owner of the dog pleaded guilty to criminal charges she refused to consider paying compensation to the victims of the attack because her dog had not previously shown any signs of aggressive behaviour. However, as specialist dog attack solicitors we know that this is no defence to a compensation claim and we therefore commenced court proceedings against her.
Shortly after doing so we reached an out of court settlement with the woman’s solicitors, recovering compensation for the mother’s PTSD and the impact of the incident on her career.
The case shows that compensation can be claimed not only by those who have suffered physical injury in a dog attack, but also by those who have suffered mental injuries caused by witnessing the attack.