speeding car hit my little dog

[cassiem75]

What is the name of your state? Virginia

I have a pomerian. She is not allowed out unless she is on a leash. About 2 1/2 weeks ago I had vistors at my house, who upon leaving let her out. (When she gets out accidently, which is not very often, she usually stays in the yard or goes across the road to the neighbors yard.) Of course, this was one of the times when she choose to go to the neighbors yard. Before I could get to the middle of my yard a broncho comes flying up the road. When he saw my little dog he slowed down. He never stopped. He hit her. He went a good 500 yards up the road before he stopped. (I seriously beleive the only reason he stopped was he saw everyone in the road.) The speed limit is 25mph and a leash law only in affect in the town ordiance. (Which is like 10 miles from my house.)

I would not be so upset about this, but my three little girls seen this happen and this man has not even said he is sorry for hitting my little dog. I have spoken with him since and he told me to make a claim with his insurance. I spoke to them and they said they could not pay on this claim because he said that my dog was chasing his broncho...which she was not.

I know that I could file a civil suit against this man. I have incured $450.00 in vet bils for this. He was working, and driving a company car when he hit my little dog. I was wondering do I file it against the man, the company, or both. I have 5 witness including the neighbors who seen this happen. People have called the company he works for before this pertaining to his speed.

Any help or advice would be appreciated.

[Lynx 36]

This is a terrible thing to happen, but unfortunately there is little you can do. The dog was out in the middle of the road w/o a leash. The reason why doesn't matter.

If the Bronco was speeding how can you prove it? Was there a radar gun? I'm not being mean, but to sue you need proof when you go to court if you want to win.

If you do sue, it sounds like small claims. Gather your witnesses together and make sure they testify. If you do file a civil suit against the man his insurance company will provide him an atty f/ his defense so be ready f/ that. This sounds like it may be a tough case to win.

Back in December one of the vehicles in my fleet ran over a Dachsund and killed it. I denied the claim as the dog ran out in the rd in front of our co. vehicle. There was nothing the driver could do and he felt terrible about it. But we weren't liable.

Good luck, and I hope your dog is OK. Have two myself and would hate f/ that to happen.

[enjay]

The bottom line is that your little dog was in the road, and if he was in the yard he wouldn't have been hit. The speed of the driver isn't the issue.

[teflon_jones]

I'm sorry to hear about this, but in the end, it's your fault that the dog was in the street. It doesn't matter whether somebody let it out, or it jumped out a window, or chewed threw its leash. In the end, the dog was in the street. Without having proof of how fast the driver was going, there's nothing you can do unless you're an authority on vehicle speeds.

[HomeGuru]

Originally Posted by cassiem75

What is the name of your state? Virginia

I have a pomerian. She is not allowed out unless she is on a leash. About 2 1/2 weeks ago I had vistors at my house, who upon leaving let her out. (When she gets out accidently, which is not very often, she usually stays in the yard or goes across the road to the neighbors yard.) Of course, this was one of the times when she choose to go to the neighbors yard. Before I could get to the middle of my yard a broncho comes flying up the road. When he saw my little dog he slowed down. He never stopped. He hit her. He went a good 500 yards up the road before he stopped. (I seriously beleive the only reason he stopped was he saw everyone in the road.) The speed limit is 25mph and a leash law only in affect in the town ordiance. (Which is like 10 miles from my house.)

I would not be so upset about this, but my three little girls seen this happen and this man has not even said he is sorry for hitting my little dog. I have spoken with him since and he told me to make a claim with his insurance. I spoke to them and they said they could not pay on this claim because he said that my dog was chasing his broncho...which she was not.

I know that I could file a civil suit against this man. I have incured $450.00 in vet bils for this. He was working, and driving a company car when he hit my little dog. I was wondering do I file it against the man, the company, or both. I have 5 witness including the neighbors who seen this happen. People have called the company he works for before this pertaining to his speed.

Any help or advice would be appreciated.

**A: you're guilty and the driver is not. Leash your dog at all times outdoors unless your yard is fenced.

[rmet4nzkx]

A couple of things I can't figure out:
A little ball of fluff scampers across the road, this might be easily missed, explaining why the driver didn't stop right away.
How hard did the bronco hit your dog for it to survive with onlly a $450 vet bill?
You need to be more careful with your little dog!

[nextwife]

I KNOW it's expensive, but do consider researching an invisible fence system as a safety back up. Our doggies do occassionally slip out.

However, I do feel that people driving through residential neighborhoods need to slow down and be more concious of roadside activity that may be moving into the street. I have several times slowed considerably upon seeing a thrown ball missed by a kiddo, who, sure enough, followed the ball into the street. WE have a BRonco driver at the end of our dead end street who also FLIES around a semi-blind curve in that danged car, cutting off the curve and making it impossible for children on the block to feel safe bicycling or roller skating along the shoulder (we have no sidewalks, the gravel "shoulder" is where kids ARE expected to do that). What is it about some drivers in SUVS?

[Lynx 36]

Call the police and let them know about cars speeding in your neighborhood on a consistent basis. Also encourage your neighbors to do the same. It will give the police a heads up, and they may start watching your neighborhood a little closer.