dog bite

[Sandra2003]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

My dog bit someone the Saturday before last while my dog was in our backyard (our house is in a corner so our backyard is exposed to the sidewalk, with a gate surrounding our property). It seems that the man was drunkenly stumbling down the sidewalk and halfway through walking the length of the sidewalk against our backyard, he stopped and tried to sit against the cinderblocks below our gate to regain his balance and my dog bit him. It was a very ugly bite and he almost tore off a chunk of flesh. My dog was inside our property; the man wasn't. He often passes by our sidewalk drunk and sometimes provokes our dogs (a lot of people do because our dogs bark angrily when they're provoked) so he knows there are dogs on our property, and I guess my dog didn't take too kindly to him sitting against our gate. My brother called 911 and my dad tried to wrap handkerchiefs and things around the man's arm while the paramedics came. Ambulance came and took him to the hospital and I gave all my info to the firefighter.

This Saturday, we received a letter from a lawyer with a form to fill out with our house insurance information to see what our house insurance covers. I don't feel that we should be responsible for paying for anything since our dog was inside the property - the man was within our dog's reach and he knew this. My dad wants to take the form to our house insurance people personally to speak with someone before doing anything. I don't know what we can do from here, what to expect, what the best course of action would be, etc.

[ecmst12]

Your insurance company will take care of this for you, report the claim to them IMMEDIATELY. They will pay or defend against the claim as appropriate. You just need to follow their directions.

[Sandra2003]

How would this affect our insurance? Forgive me for being a bit naive about this. I'm worried that it'll be a big hit to my parents. Is it likely that they would only cover partial costs and we'd have to pay a certain amount? Since the ambulance and firefighters left my house that evening, we have been completely in the dark about EVERYTHING until we received that letter.

[ecmst12]

No, you won't have to pay a thing, up to the liability limits of the policy. It's possible the premium could be increased at the next renewal or even that the policy could be dropped, but there's no sense in worrying about that now. This is what insurance is for, to protect you in the event that you are, or COULD be, liable for someone else's damages.

[Blue Meanie]

Originally Posted by Sandra2003

How would this affect our insurance? Forgive me for being a bit naive about this. I'm worried that it'll be a big hit to my parents. Is it likely that they would only cover partial costs and we'd have to pay a certain amount? Since the ambulance and firefighters left my house that evening, we have been completely in the dark about EVERYTHING until we received that letter.

What kind of dog is this and does your insurance company know you have a dog?

[CJane]

Originally Posted by Blue Meanie

What kind of dog is this and does your insurance company know you have a dog?

This is what you DO need to worry about right now. MANY insurance companies require a "rider" for several breeds/breed types. I've owned 3 homes and every single time I've been looking for homeowners insurance, one of the first questions asked has been "Do you have a dog and what type of dog is it?"

My dog vaguely resembles a chow in color/fluffiness ONLY and I had to "Prove" to my current insurer that he's NOT a chow/chow cross.