Let Sleeping Dogs Lie?

31st March 2010

Prompted by the recent emergence of the ‘trophy’ dog, it was only a few weeks ago that the government announced that there would compulsory insurance for all dog-owners. However, after only a matter of days, the government last week changed its mind and stated that it is no longer pursuing the idea, all of which has left our accident claims solicitor William Weller perplexed.

Until recently, the only occasion when a dog was ever likely to become professionally involved here at Thatcher & Hallam was when the former family pet was the subject of custody/access rights during divorce proceedings. However, all this has now rapidly changed, as William explains.

‘The public perception of a dog getting into trouble is when they read in the paper that the animal has bitten someone and its owner ends up before the magistrates’court,’ says William. ‘Under the Dogs Act, the owner can be made subject to a control order or in a more serious case see a destruction order made against his or her dog. Additionally, nearly 20 years ago, the Dangerous Dogs Act was introduced to combat the then ‘fashion’ of the fighting dog breeds.’

However, William sees the real hidden growth in litigation involving dogs as being in the civil courts where actions for personal injury are brought.

‘There is said to be more than 10 million dogs in the UK,’ says William. ‘Sometimes, things go wrong, even with the most ‘harmless’ of dog. Our society is now far more willing to litigate. A dog bite resulting in permanent scarring can result in a claim of many thousands of pounds. A dog being off the lead and causing a car crash resulting in serious injury or even death can lead to a claim for many hundreds of thousands of pounds. If a dog-owner has no third party insurance, then they may be held to be personally liable thus putting their house and all their assets at risk.’

‘Organisations like the RSPCA constantly stress the responsibility of looking after a dog-and they are utterly right to do so,’ adds William. ‘That responsibility includes getting the right insurance. Don’t put everything at risk.’

William believes that compulsory insurance for all dog-owners is certainly a step in the right direction and is puzzled why the government has now adopted a ‘let sleeping dogs lie’ policy.  ‘As I witness in my professional work here at Thatcher & Hallam, sadly not everyone is insured. However, the principle has got to be right and even though the government seems to have backed down the advice I would give to anyone is unequivocal-get your dog insured!’