Who is liable for a dog bite incident?


Questioner

On September 22nd our dog was bitten during the dog walk by a dog from the pack. He had been bitten by this dog before. The dog walker washes his hands of it and refers to his general terms and conditions. We contacted the owner of the dog and asked her to file the incident with her third-party insurance. This involves veterinary costs of almost 800,-. In an earlier incident, with the same dog, we did not recover the costs. Here too the costs were high. In consultation with the dog walker we decided not to do this. That same week we reported this biting incident to the police. The owner of the biting dog blames us for this. We are in contact with the owner of the biting dog via Whatsapp. Unfortunately, this contact is difficult. The last contact is from October 19, 2023. In an app we asked for contact details of the intermediary. Whereupon we received a message that she had forwarded everything to her intermediary and that it was now beyond her control. Furthermore, that she was trying to arrange it as quickly and neatly as possible, but that she could also make it a long process. The fact that she doesn't give her contact details and that she threatens to delay everything doesn't feel right. We haven't heard anything since October 19, 2023. I also wonder if the dog walker is not responsible, because: - He bit our dog before. - He has bitten another dog outside the pack before. - The walking service says he asked the owner to practice with a muzzle on their dog. Below is the letter explaining what happened according to the dog walker: Dear, Hereby I send you my factual account of the confrontation between L. and C. on September 22, 2023. As usual, I usually unload L. first, then Z. and finally C. That works best. So it was this time. Because I like to put a leash on C., I wanted to do this when he was taken out of his cage in the bus. L. was standing about 5 meters away from us at that moment. Because C. is quite busy, I was not able to get the line on at first, during this attempt L. decided to come and have a look. While I was busy with C. L. came close to us, which startled C., because I still had him. He reacted fiercely to Li, who was startled by that. And so a short confrontation arose, in which the the damage to C. was limited, but unfortunately not to L. So far, my observations from Friday, September 22, 2023. I hope you can help me with a possible next step.

Lawyer

Dear Sir/Madam, What an annoying issue and hopefully the dog will be fine again. Legally, the owner is liable for the damage caused by the dog. However, I gather from the story of the walking service that they let the dogs run free. This means that the owner's liability lapses and the walking service is liable for the damage. You can contact me directly through this platform or by email: groenewegenjuristen@gmail.com Greetings, Mr. Groenewegen, J.

Questioner

Good evening Mr. Groenewegen, Thank you for your surprising answer. We always thought that the owner of the dog was liable. The owner of the dog walker told us this. Can you indicate what you base your knowledge on? Can this be found in the law book or is this from possible case law? We also wonder what follow-up steps we can take and what you can do for us in this. Would you please let us know? Yours sincerely, Micah Brown

Lawyer

Dear Mrs. de Bruin, Thank you for your response. You may contact me via email address: groenewegenjuristen@gmail.com. I can then provide you with further information and an explanation of the free legal assistance. Greetings, Mr. Groenewegen, J.

Lawyer

Dear Mrs. de Bruin, We have not heard from you, has the message you sent been received in good order by you...? May I hear from you? Kind regards, Mr. Groenewegen, J.

Questioner

Hello Mr. Groenwegen, We have now settled and closed this matter with the other party. Thank you very much for your cooperation! Kind regards, Micha

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