I was in secluded area, dog was not on a leash. Two men began to walk towards me. I asked them to wait while I leashed my dog, however they continued to walk towards me. My dog nipped one of them on the calf, breaking his skin in one area. He called the police and paramedics. The paramedics recommended that he go to his doctor the next morning for a tetanus shot (since he could not remember when his last one was.) He insisted that he go to ER via ambulance.
I became suspicious and took pictures of the "wound" and of the man walking to the ambulance. He has now contacted me and requested $1700 for the ambulance, ER, and treatment.
Am I responsible for this or only responsible for the cost of a tetanus shot? I live in NY.
From the LawyerCentral forum archive. Originally posted 11 October 2010 on a legal forum that has closed. Names and contact details were removed. See the original (Internet Archive).
Hey, I found this online:
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It looks like the victim would have to provide evidence of your dog's vicious tendencies before he could hold you liable for all of those damages. You would also need to have knowledge of those vicious tendencies. You trying to get a leash on the dog before the two individuals approached could be considered evidence of such, but I don't know because I'm not a lawyer. It sounds like it's worth a consult though.
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