A pizza delivery man, whose finger was bitten by a dog when he was delivering advertising leaflets, has been awarded €7,000 in compensation for an injury due to a dog bite after successfully appealing his case to the High Court.
The Claimant (23) made his claim for an injury due to a dog bite after being bitten by an Alsatian-type dog in October 2009. The Claimant required a tetanus injection and hospital treatment for his finger injury, after which he consulted a solicitor in respect of claiming personal injury compensation from the owners of the dog.
The Defendants denied the Claimant´s claim for a personal injury due to a dog bite and, when the case was originally heard before Mr Justice Matthew Deery in the Circuit Civil Court in February 2012, Mr Justice Deery ruled that the Claimant had no legal right to put his hand through the letterbox in the process of delivering advertising leaflets.
However, Ms Justice Iseult O’Malley at the High Court in Dublin allowed the claimant´s appeal on the grounds that the protective flap (from dog bites) at the back of the letterbox did not extend the full depth of the aperture and stated “It seems to me entirely possible the dog in fact got its nose under the flap and managed to bite his hand.” She determined that there was no further need to prove that the Defendants had been negligent.
Ms Justice Iseult O’Malley awarded the Claimant €7,000 in compensation for an injury due to a dog bite plus costs for his two court cases.