The dangers of having dogs as pets

The dangers of having dogs as petsThere have been a number of tragic stories in the news mostly involving young people who have sustained serious personal injuries in severe and brutal dog bite attacks. Many of these victims and their families have later contacted personal injury solicitors to make no win, no fee claims. But despite the possibility of being awarded accident compensation, the scars left from a frightful attack may never heal and some people might find it very difficult to be close to another animal in fear they could suffer further dog bite injuries.

Serious phobias can develop and a number of dog bite sufferers may be reluctant to visit a friend or relative's house if they have a pet dog. Some of these concerns were raised when I spoke to several people who had at some point in their lives been attacked by a dog; here is what they had to say:

"I have just been awarded injury compensation after having to make a no win, no fee claim for an attack that happened a couple of years ago. I was visiting my boyfriend's house and his parents had a Staffordshire Bull Terrier. I'd been round there before and the dog had always been fine but one day it just suddenly turned on me. It bit my arm and wouldn't let go; my boyfriend's dad had to physically pull him off me. I had 20 stitches and I've been left with a terrible scar on my arm."
Gemma, London

"I had always grown up around dogs and never had any reason to fear them but after my neighbour's dog bit me I found myself crossing the road if I saw a dog walker coming towards me. When I was attacked, the dog took a strong hold of my leg and bit my finger when I tried to get him off me. I was rushed to hospital and received stitches but three years on I've still got a deep scar on my leg. I decided that I wasn't going to suffer in silence so I contacted a personal injury solicitor and made a no win, no fee claim against my neighbour. Her dog was covered under her home insurance and after months of negations my solicitors secured me injury compensation."
Mathew, Birmingham

These are just a couple of stories from people who have managed to secure personal injury compensation for dog bite attacks. I myself was attacked by a dog when I was younger but fortunately I escaped suffering serious injuries in the incident. The dog belonged to my aunt who was a huge animal lover and who already had three dogs from shelter homes. The latest dog was a little more nervous than the others and had obviously suffered severely with its previous owners.

The German Shepherd didn't like people coming to the door and as a mere youngster I loved running up to my auntie's house to press the doorbell. However, one day the door was partially open and the dog rushed out seeking an intruder; he knocked me over and took a little nip of my hand but I didn't suffer a severe personal injury. Back then people didn't consider making no win, no fee claims against family members but in the modern era, it could have been an attack that my parents could have made an accident claim for.
If you have been attacked by a friend's or relative's dog and suffered serious personal injuries as a result of the incident, I would have no hesitation in advising that you contact a personal injury solicitor and make a no win, no fee claim.
For more information, visit http://news.bbc.co.uk where you can find some useful information about fending off dangerous dogs.

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Katrina Eadie, YouClaim are the leading online personal injury compensation claim people with a 97% claim success rate. Call 0800 10 757 95 or visit http://www.youclaim.co.uk/No-win-no-fee/No-win-no-fee-case-study%20-%20dog-bite.htm for more details.