Who is liable in a dog bite incident?

Questioner

My dog ​​was bitten by another dog from the dog walking service in an off-leash area while I was walking with the dog walking service. Both dogs were off-leash at the time. Who is liable for the damage to my dog? The owner of the dog that bit or the dog walking service?

Lawyer

According to the law (art. 6:179 BW) the owner of the biting dog is liable for the damage. This is only different if he had this behavior of the animal in his power, which was apparently not the case. The owner of the dog is therefore liable for the damage to your dog. This damage must be expressible in money, otherwise there is no legal question of damage.

Lawyer

I agree with my colleague's answer, but I do wonder whether the fact that the dogs were in an off-leash area could also have an effect. That you, as a dog owner, are taking a risk.

Questioner

The result of this biting incident is that my dog ​​had to go to the vet to be stitched up. I want to recover these costs. Is it true that the employee of the dog walking service cannot be held liable? Because as an official dog sitter you are considered the 'holder' of the dog. This means that you have temporary supervision over the dog. There is no liability for this. Because as a sitter you are not liable for someone else's animal according to the law. The employee of the dog walking service cannot be held liable and does the dog owner of the dog that bites therefore remain responsible?

Lawyer

Legally, the dog owner is liable to you and in all likelihood the dog walking service is liable to the owner of the biting dog. I refer to an earlier interesting discussion about a roughly comparable case, to which there is actually nothing more to add: http://www.rechtswinkel.nl/ Answers/28412/mijn-hond-gaat-elke-dag-naar-de-hondenuitlaatservice-tijdens-een-wandeling-in-een.html

Lawyer

That's right, you can hold the owner of the dog liable. Of course, he or she can try to recover the damages from the dog walking service or from their insurance, but that has nothing to do with you. You could perhaps hold the dog walking service liable directly on the grounds of an unlawful act, but that is an unnecessarily uncertain and cumbersome route, especially now that you have a legal basis with which you can easily hold the owner liable.

Questioner

The insurance company of the biting dog refuses to pay because according to them the dog walking service is responsible. The general terms and conditions of the dog walking service state that every owner is responsible for his/her dog. What should I do now?

Lawyer

You have nothing to do with the insurer, that is the problem of the owner of the biting dog. They simply have to compensate your damage. Summons to pay and if that does not lead to anything, then unfortunately a procedure is the only option.

Questioner

In article 6.179BW, the risk liability lies with the owners of animals. However, in The article mentioned is the unless clause included, I just understand. of the insurance company of the biting dog. And because the biting incident happened at the dog walking service, the liability does not lie with the owner but with the professional handler (dog walking service). After all, there is an agreement between us and the walking service. Is this true?

Lawyer

They are apparently trying to distract you from your rights. The basic situation is that the owner of the biting dog is liable for the damage. You can therefore hold that owner liable. The fact that the owner claims his insurance is of no concern to you. The fact that the insurer then makes up all sorts of reasons why he will not pay is of no concern to you at all. You can hold the owner of the biting dog liable for the damage, and that is it. What the owner then does to get his money back is of no concern to you at all. The best thing you can do is to hold the owner of the biting dog liable for the damage suffered in a (registered) letter, set a deadline for him to compensate for the damage and make it clear to him that he will be in default if he exceeds that deadline. There is a good chance that the case will then move forward. But if all this doesn't work, you can contact me.