Who is legally responsible for a Dog Attack? Is there insurance to compensate for injuries suffered?

Dogs can cause injury to people in a variety of ways, such as biting, scratching or knocking a person over. If the dog attack causes injury that results in an effect on a persons enjoyment of life, ability to do tasks around home or their work capacity, then a legal claim for compensation may be an option worth exploring.

Legal Responsibility (Legal Liability)

Pursuant to the relevant legislation, the Dog and Cat Management Act 1995 (SA) (‘Act’), the ‘keeper of a dog’ is legally responsible for injury, damage or loss caused by the dog in a dog attack.

The ‘keeper of a dog’ is defined in the Act to be:

1. The owner of the dog (if the person is 18 years of age or older); or
2. The parents or guardian of the owner of the dog (if the person is under 18 years of age).
3. Alternatively, the keeper of a dog means a person into whose possession the dog has been delivered (i.e. the person responsible for looking after the dog while the owner is not looking after the dog).

The injured person in a dog attack is required to prove the following to succeed in their legal claim:

1. That the dog attack happened.
2. Who the keeper of the dog is.
3. That they suffered injury.
4. That they suffered loss and damage as a result of the injury.

An injured person does not need to prove that the dog was dangerous or knowledge on the part of the owner about the risk of harm posed by the dog. It is sufficient for the injured person to prove that the dog caused injury for the keeper of the dog to be legally liable.

Registration records from the relevant local council may be useful evidence for proving the ownership of the dog.

Insurance

An important question to consider in dog attack claims is whether the dog keeper has insurance coverage for dog attacks.

Dogs are considered personal property at law and therefore many contents insurance policies provide coverage for dog attack injuries. Typically, many homeowners will have home and contents insurance. It is common that people renting may not have contents insurance, unless they have personal property of significant value.  

If the dog keeper does not have insurance, then a claim is not likely to result in the injured person receiving compensation, even if they are entitled, unless the dog keeper has real property or other financial assets to mean that they can afford to pay compensation.

At MKF Lawyers we can assist with dog attack claims by:

1. Investigating liability in relation to a dog attack claim;
2. Arranging a property search in relation to the keeper of the dog (to identify if they hold real property assets); and
3. Representing an injured person from the start of a claim to the conclusion of a claim by way of a negotiated outcome or a Court judgment.

Contact MKF Lawyers for advice about your compensation claim entitlements.  We offer no win, no fee for compensation claims.

‍