Would you sue someone who hit your pet with their car?

[TravelingGal]

On The People's Court a few months ago, there was a case where a dog was able to open the owner's front screen door by itself, ran out in the street and was killed by a car. Both parties had to pay 50/50 for the vet bills and damage to the car (which I thought was very crass to sue the dog owner for damage to your car!).

Girlsrocks- I'm not sure what the rules are where you live, but we aren't allowed to have pets in an open yard (front yard, park, etc) without a leash. So, I would imagine, here in my area, it is extremely plausible that a car owner would try to have the pet owners pay for damage to their car.

To be honest, their is a dog on my street that craps in my yard and cars are ALWAYS having to dodge the dog in the street. If I was unable to dodge him and he caused damage to my car, I would definitely ask the owner to pay.

You know, I totally didn't think about this until now, but my neighbor lets his little terrier into the yard without a leash. Amelia and I will picnic in the front yard and the dog comes bounding over to us. I'm a little wary at letting dogs get too near the kid because you never know what's going to happen with an unknown dog, but the neighbor doesn't seem to think too much about it.

 

[soocool]

No, I definitely would not sue if my dog ran out into the street in front of the car

That said if my dog is not trained to stay on property, he would always be on a leash. Even though my dog is friendly I would not want him running up to someone unwelcomed. My dog loves our neighbors, but he will stay on property even when they call him over. He will look at me first and if I say Ok he'll run over to them and then comeback when called. He won't even chase squirrels or rabbits without getting my approval and I always say "Stay". I don't want him to think it is OK to chase other animals.

 

[HollyS]

If the driver was not trying to hit the pet, WHY would anyone sue?

Nuisance lawsuits accomplish nothing good.

 

[waterlilly]

A hit and run? Hmmm...not sure - if someone hit and run a person that is illegal obviously, what are the laws regarding pets?

A child could just as easily run out in traffic like that...no one would say "oh well, the parents fault"

A hit and run is a hit and run...people should stop don't you think?

If the person was screaming through at a high speed through a 20mph zone in front of my house, I might be tempted to seek some sort of punishment for the person...or even sue...

I never let my dogs off leash - but accidents happen, and if the leash pulled out of my hand and some idiot was tearing through the neighborhood not paying attention, I'd probably lose my mind if they hit and killed my dog...

 

[kenny]

A child could just as easily run out in traffic like that...no one would say "oh well, the parents fault"

If the child was young enough, I would say it is the parent's fault.

But hit and run is never okay, child or pet.

 

[TravelingGal]

waterlilly, sorry, meant to clarify that the hit and run isn't the part I'm asking about. Yes, that part is horrible. I'm wondering if the person stopped, how upset would the owner be and would they sue.

Holly, yes, that seems RATIONAL to me, but I'm wondering how much of it would be irrational. My friend is very very upset. And a bit, er...profane, on facebook. I know it's the hit and run part that's made her really upset, but I find it interesting that no where in her posts has she explained, or taken responsibility for the fact that the dog must not have been on a leash. However, she lets it out to go pee on her property...and probably didn't think something like this could happen that fast.

 

[TravelingGal]

double post

 

[suchende]

What about the reverse? I would expect compensation if someone failed to leash/fence their pet and I hit it and damaged my car or other property.

 

[charbie]

Nope...wouldn't sue. I'd be heartbroken, but wrecked with guilt. If it were a hit and run, id be livid, but still wrecked with guilt.

Msdebby: im so sorry you had to go through that. That would be awful.

My neighborhood has several outdoor cats roaming the streets. Im so nervous ill one day hit one, and wont know what to do since inot sure if the cats may be someone's!

 

[partgypsy]

OK stuff happens, everyone agrees dogs should not be running loose but stuff happens!

My mom's house is in a culdesack with literally 5 other houses. I don't know what the speed limit is but obviously low. Kids often play ball or frisbee there. Back in highschool we were in the front yard. we threw the tennis ball and our dog ran after it into the street. A neighbor pulling in sees this, doesn't slow down at all and our dog bounces off the front of their car. They don't stop, pull into their garage, pressing the garage door so it closes.
They then call us complaining that if there is any damage to the front of the car they expect us to pay. I'm like WTF!
What if that was a kid running after a stray ball- it's ok to mow them down because they are in the street?

Fortunately our dog was ok and so was her car.

 

[Pandora II]

I believe in the UK that the owner of the car can sue a dog owner for any damage to the vehicle. It doesn't apply to cats as they are deemed to be uncontrollable, whereas a dog owner is expected to control their dog.

Kenny, I'm OK with the idea of leashing kids, so I'm REALLY thinking dogs should be leashed!!

I actually saw a kid on a leash in a store once.
I have mixed feelings about this being okay - maybe if you were Octo-Mom.

It's very common here to use reins with small children - I put them on my 20 month-old everytime we leave the house without a stroller. She refuses to hold my hand and I don't want her running into the road or getting away from me.

For example, I took her to the Science Museum and I didn't have the reins on. We were looking at the Apollo 3 stuff and to one side was a large group of tourists posing for a photograph. Next thing Daisy has darted through their legs and vanished. I couldn't follow but had to go right the way round by which time there was no sign of her. I went all the way to the road exit and not there, went all the way back and into the next hall and some other visitors asked if I was looking for a small child - she had climbed up the very steep stairs to the next level and was running up and down.

Even the best behaved small children can suddenly decide to run off or wrench free from your grasp and it only takes a split second for bad things to happen.

When Daisy has reins on I know she can't fall in ponds, get stolen or run in the road! I have 3 sets - one heavy duty and the others are the Harness Buddy Monkey and Little Life Bee - they are super-cute, Daisy loves them and there is never a fight about putting them on.

Waterlilly said above "A child could just as easily run out in traffic like that...no one would say "oh well, the parents fault""

In my opinion if the child was a very young age it would be the parent's fault - if they had their child in reins this would not have happened - if the child is older, say over 6 then possibly not.

 

[Cehrabehra]

No, if I didn't have my pet restrained how could I blame someone who was driving down the road? Now, if my dog was on a leash and I was on the sidewalk and the driver came up on the sidewalk or something, maybe.

 

[Cehrabehra]

Kenny, I'm OK with the idea of leashing kids, so I'm REALLY thinking dogs should be leashed!!

I thought leashes on kids were barbaric until I actually HAD a child who needed one lol

And on the topic of dogs not on leashes - what if they attack someone? Sure, everyone thinks their little fluffy is harmless but my son has scars on his face that prove otherwise.

 

[katamari]

There can't be legal grounds for that lawsuit, right?

I am also a proponent of leashes and believe they should be used 100% of the time.

 

[afreebird]

What about the reverse? I would expect compensation if someone failed to leash/fence their pet and I hit it and damaged my car or other property.

Oh, wow. I couldn't imagine hitting someone's pet and then demanding compensation for damage to my vehicle. Wow.

 

[diva rose]

If your pet ran out into the street right in front of their vehicle and they tried to stop but couldn't stop on time?

No - not if they tried to stop and couldn't stop on time.

However - if they were drink driving - I'd report them to the cops.
If I let them go, they can kill someone.
I feel strongly against drink driving.

I'd also report them if they were driving like a maniac, high on drugs or driving without a permit.

 

[mrscushion]

Well, first off, you couldn't really sue for that over here in Germany. Secondly, I'd never sue because I'd be afraid I'd be sued back. Why is the pet in the street, endangering traffic?

 

[chemgirl]

A child could just as easily run out in traffic like that...no one would say "oh well, the parents fault"

If the child was young enough, I would say it is the parent's fault.

But hit and run is never okay, child or pet.

Exactly.

When my mother was a kid, one of her cousins was hit and killed by a car. He was slidding down the snowbank in front of his house in to the street. It must have been really hard for the driver to see him and he was in the road so fast. Whenever the topic comes up, everybody feels sorry for the driver and what he went through.

 

[diamondringlover]

When my son was around 18 he wrecked his car because a dog ran into the street and he didnt want to hit it (he didnt), he didnt get hurt and his car was still drivable but I was pissed, I thought about approaching the people that owned the dog for repairs to his car, but I didnt, the one thing that makes made me very angry was the fact that my son could have gotten hurt or killed all because someone let their dog run free......

 

[labellavita81]

Can you sue? Would you have any leg to stand on? As the owner of the pet its your responsibility to keep it contained, on leash etc.

 

[labellavita81]

What about the reverse? I would expect compensation if someone failed to leash/fence their pet and I hit it and damaged my car or other property.

I agree with this.

 

[Karl_K]

Can you sue? Would you have any leg to stand on? As the owner of the pet its your responsibility to keep it contained, on leash etc.

Unless the person intentionally swerved to hit the animal there is no grounds to sue in any state in the US.
In every state the car owner can sue the dog's/cat's/horse's/cow's owner for damages to the car that were caused by the animal.

If someone swerves to miss an animal and hits something they have a potential lawsuit against the animals owner but the odds of collecting anything are slim.

usual disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer etc...but have researched this for a friend who ended up winning a lawsuit against a dog owner.
btw homeowners liability insurance will not cover it for the pet owner because it is an intentional tort.

 

[asscherisme]

No. Especially since they tried to stop.

 

[meresal]

On The People's Court a few months ago, there was a case where a dog was able to open the owner's front screen door by itself, ran out in the street and was killed by a car. Both parties had to pay 50/50 for the vet bills and damage to the car (which I thought was very crass to sue the dog owner for damage to your car!).

Girlsrocks- I'm not sure what the rules are where you live, but we aren't allowed to have pets in an open yard (front yard, park, etc) without a leash. So, I would imagine, here in my area, it is extremely plausible that a car owner would try to have the pet owners pay for damage to their car.

To be honest, their is a dog on my street that craps in my yard and cars are ALWAYS having to dodge the dog in the street. If I was unable to dodge him and he caused damage to my car, I would definitely ask the owner to pay.

You know, I totally didn't think about this until now, but my neighbor lets his little terrier into the yard without a leash. Amelia and I will picnic in the front yard and the dog comes bounding over to us. I'm a little wary at letting dogs get too near the kid because you never know what's going to happen with an unknown dog, but the neighbor doesn't seem to think too much about it.

Tgal, I would be just as nervous as you are when the dog comes around. When I was liek 9, I was walking from my house to a neighbors house when I was younger, and another neighbors dog came bounding across the culdesac at warp speed. He leaped onto my back and a yardman for the same neighbor, who had been chasing it as it ran towards me, had to pull it off of me. I wasn't hurt, the dog was just very excited, but you never know what a pet is going to do, or if it could harm a child.

IMO, owners who think that thier dog would never have one of those "mements" are alos the types of owners that will blame the child if heaven forbid, something "did" happen.

 

[partgypsy]

Can you sue? Would you have any leg to stand on? As the owner of the pet its your responsibility to keep it contained, on leash etc.

Unless the person intentionally swerved to hit the animal there is no grounds to sue in any state in the US.
In every state the car owner can sue the dog's/cat's/horse's/cow's owner for damages to the car that were caused by the animal.

If someone swerves to miss an animal and hits something they have a potential lawsuit against the animals owner but the odds of collecting anything are slim.

usual disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer etc...but have researched this for a friend who ended up winning a lawsuit against a dog owner.
btw homeowners liability insurance will not cover it for the pet owner because it is an intentional tort.

Wow someone who ran over someone's dog sued the dog owner for damage to their car?

Maybe it's legal, but I wouldn't look at someone who did that the same way.

 

[Karl_K]

Wow someone who ran over someone's dog sued the dog owner for damage to their car?

Maybe it's legal, but I wouldn't look at someone who did that the same way.

long story about a lady who let 5 large dogs run and $2000 damage to a person who is disabled on a pension car.
The dog ran out leaving no time to stop or do anything.
2 of her dogs were hit in the year before that.

The dogs owner is liable legally(the law) and morally(my opinion).

 

[suchende]

Wow someone who ran over someone's dog sued the dog owner for damage to their car?

Maybe it's legal, but I wouldn't look at someone who did that the same way.

What if it were their cow and you wrecked your car because they didn't appropriately managed it? Degrees...

 

[meresal]

The owner of any pet, in a PUBLIC venue (street, park, house, etc. that is not their own private property), that causes damage/injury to a passerby or their property should be liable for said damage/injury.

It's common sense, and it applies to things other than cars as well. If I was walking my baby on a sidewalk and a dog/pet came over and significantly damaged part of my stroller, I would expect the owner to pay to repair the damage or replace the stroller.

You cannot predict what an animal is going to do, and that is why they have Leash Laws. To protect the owners as well as your neighbors.

 

[Imdanny]

I watched my dog get run over when I was not yet six in a small town with very little traffic, over thirty years ago.

The woman hit my dog and left.

I was so upset I couldn't speak. My mother had no idea what I was trying to say.

We took the dog to the vet and left it there.

I can't say I wish I could have sued her, but I can say that I have no sympathy for a woman who hit a dog in front of a child and fled the scene.

I think this might be one of the reasons why it took me until I was 40 before I felt I was capable and wanted to commit to getting a kitten, raising it, and taking care of it its entire life.

 

[Kaleigh]

I watched my dog get run over when I was not yet six in a small town with very little traffic, over thirty years ago.

The woman hit my dog and left.

I was so upset I couldn't speak. My mother had no idea what I was trying to say.

We took the dog to the vet and left it there.

I can't say I wish I could have sued her, but I can say that I have no sympathy for a woman who hit a dog in front of a child and fled the scene.

I think this might be one of the reasons why it took me until I was 40 before I felt I was capable and wanted to commit to getting a kitten, raising it, and taking care of it its entire life.

I am sorry that happened to you Imdanny. That is so traumatic.

No I wouldn't sue. If the dog got out it would be my fault. I do take great measures to make sure this doesn't happen. Invisible fencing, and replace the batteries often. Casper is blind so if he got out, he wouldn't see the car...

Oh it's a hard thing, either way. My dad's dog was hit, the person didn't stop. Golden lab left laying in the road... Ughhh.