Dog Bite

[jeremy2017]

I need some advice, this is what this forum is for. On April 13th 2001, young girl, the age of 15 was over at my house and she was sitting on the bed, then leaned down to where the dog was and the dog bit her. she needed about 5 stitches and now the bite area is not visable. they are trying to sue us, we do not have insurance on the house and we do not have any money to spare, the only money we have is money in RSP's which doesn't total alot anyways, we do not have a lawyer and we can not afford a lawyer. Any advice would be great thanks. the sooner the better. they have sent us a paper saying that they are going to sue us, didn't say for how much and they sent a financial survey we filled it out and sent it back and haven't heard anything.

Medical Care is paid for free in CANADA, stitches didn't not cost the other family any money, they are sueing for suffering and damages.
We have no house insurance. which includes liability insurance

 

[HomeGuru]

I need some advice, this is what this forum is for. On April 13th 2001, young girl, the age of 15 was over at my house and she was sitting on the bed, then leaned down to where the dog was and the dog bit her. she needed about 5 stitches and now the bite area is not visable. they are trying to sue us, we do not have insurance on the house and we do not have any money to spare, the only money we have is money in RSP's which doesn't total alot anyways, we do not have a lawyer and we can not afford a lawyer. Any advice would be great thanks. the sooner the better. they have sent us a paper saying that they are going to sue us, didn't say for how much and they sent a financial survey we filled it out and sent it back and haven't heard anything.

**A: what are they suing you for?
Have you offered to reimburse them for all medical expenses?
How come you have no insurance?
Did you have insurance but did not pay so it was cancelled
If you have a mortgage, you would be in default without insurance.
If you do get sued, you are going to have to find the money to hire an attorney.

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

I need some advice, this is what this forum is for. On April 13th 2001, young girl, the age of 15 was over at my house and she was sitting on the bed, then leaned down to where the dog was and the dog bit her. she needed about 5 stitches and now the bite area is not visable. they are trying to sue us, we do not have insurance on the house and we do not have any money to spare, the only money we have is money in RSP's which doesn't total alot anyways, we do not have a lawyer and we can not afford a lawyer. Any advice would be great thanks. the sooner the better. they have sent us a paper saying that they are going to sue us, didn't say for how much and they sent a financial survey we filled it out and sent it back and haven't heard anything.

**** U.S. LAW ONLY - PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR STATE BECAUSE LAWS VARY FROM STATE TO STATE.

 

[toasted]

This site only covers the US of A (did you see the post above mine?).

You say you cannot afford an attorney, however if you do not get legal advice you may not have your house for long either. Sorry.

What made her lean down in the dogs face to begin with if I may ask?

 

[aero0130]

Putting aside damage minimization for a second, you may have some options open to you in defending yourself. You can only be held liable if they can prove that you did something reckless which caused the injury of the girl. For example, if the dog has never hurt anyone before that will be a very good point to bring up, showing that you had no way of knowing the dog might bite the girl. Furthermore, if she leaned her head down to the dog who was simply laying on the floor, this could be viewed as provoking the dog...

Simply put if they came into your house where your dog was lying peacefully on the floor, and you had no reason to believe your dog could become violent and the girl stuck her head in its face and it bit, you didn't do anything wrong.

Don't be intimidated by the cases you hear on TV and Radio about big settlements for dog bite victims. In many cases, these dog owners knew that their dog was a vicious animal and they didn't take steps to prevent the dog from harming people. If you acted responsibly, you have nothing to fear.

All that said, I'm not a lawyer, law is just a hobby of mine.

 

[Cabrona5150]

ah man, no money?
you'd better run and hide.