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Hit/Run with dog

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jaliriley

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Illinois

Our dog got out one morning last November (never happened before or since) as my husband was preparing to take him out. He crossed a busy street in front of our house and ran right into the rear driver's side of a passing car. He was stunned and sore for a few days but luckily not injured. My husband was right behind him trying to grab his leash and witnessed the whole incident. The driver of the car never slowed down or stopped to inspect his vehicle or the dog. He clearly must have seen my husband as he was only seconds behind the dog. That evening a local police officer knocked on our door to get a statement from my husband saying that the driver of the car had come down to file an accident report because his car had been damaged by our dog. The police officer just wanted our information/statement for the report. There were no citations. We were told to wait to hear from the driver's insurance company. Several weeks went by before we did. My husband played phone tag with some no-name insurance company for several more weeks. He was finally able to reach a live agent and was told that we would be responsible for over 1300.00 worth of damage to this guy's car and that the car had already been repaired. My husband acknowledges that we are responsible for the dog but he doesn't think we should have to pay this because the guy left the scene of the accident and my husband never was given the chance to see the extent of the damage for himself and he doesn't believe it could have been that extensive. Personally, I think he is really just mad that the guy showed no concern for the dog as my husband is an avid dog person. I have tried to reason with him that we should just pay the damages. I even convinced him to consult a lawyer thinking they might convince him that although the guy was a jerk we still are responsible for the damages. He consulted TWO lawyers who both told him to inform the no-name insurance company that he had no intentions of paying the damges and that they could take him to civil court. They both said the insurance company would most likely choose not to sue. I don't want to end up with a civil judgement on our credit report. What do you think? Is he justified in questioning this? Should we just pay it or should my husband let it go to court? BTW we now have insurance on the dog!
 


ecmst12

Senior Member
You should pay it. You are responsible for controlling your dog, your dog should not have been in the street, the accident was your fault. Leaving the scene really has nothing to do with it. If you are questioning the AMOUNT of damage, you should ask to see the photos and estimate. But $1300 is really nothing especially if the car was newer and/or nicer; dents you can barely see can end up costing that much to repair. If you like, you can alert your homeowners insurance and let them take care of the claim. That is one of the things it is for.
 

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