Ut oh, I am being sued.

[hlstone]

On Friday, there was a 2 man surveying crew on my property. I have an invisible fence for my dog and she was going nuts outside. I grabbed her leash to get her, and put her on the hand held leash.

So I ask the guy what he is doing, and he replies that he is surveying my crazy neighbors property. I then ask him to take his equipment and leave.

An hour later I get a call from the police saying my dog bit him, while I had her on the leash. He told the cop that he will be suing me. The victim of this then went to the hospital.

My dog does have rabies shots and her license.

Any suggestions are appreciated.

 

[sluggo72]

my dog bit him? Well did the dog bite the man? Did the surveyer leave??


++

This post was edited on 3/30 4:07 PM by sluggo72

This post was edited on 3/30 4:08 PM by sluggo72

 

[BigTimeBig]

Did they notify you, or attempt to notify you, beforehand that they would likely be on your property??
Posted from Rivals Mobile

 

[FlyinLion1]

We live in a sue happy nation, nowadays. Lawyers, run the show, in this day-n-age. Not good, hardworking Americans, like most of us............. Unfortunately!

 

[hlstone]

Re: my dog bit him? Well did the dog bite the man? Did the surveyer leave??

Sluggo, there is no way my dog bit him. and yes the guy left after 3 requests.

 

[sluggo72]

If your dog was on the leash, with you there, it's his word vs yours, and

he was the interuder, I wouldnt worry too much. I am surprised though, you havent heard from the neighbor.

 

[john4psu]

The hospital report would confirm or deny his version of the story.

 

[hlstone]

Bigtime, no they did not. That was my issue.

 

[hlstone]

The hospital report was, a surface wound.

 

[Cletus11]

Call up your home insurance policy and see what they say, you might be covered. If not, I would go on the offensive and tell him that you are suing him for trespassing. If he knows you are going to fight and fight hard, he will be less likely to sue. I would also tell him your cousin (or some family member) is a lawyer and will be representing you for free.

 

[sluggo72]

from 'just answers' on the survoyer being on your property

link

Surveyor

 

[PSU Mike]

so the surveyor didn't claim ...

your dog bit him before you got done speaking with him? And the dog was under your control after the end of the conversation? I would try to get any available dimensions from the hospital report of from the wound directly.

 

[hlstone]

Cletus, I want to press charges on trespassing, My wife is against it.

The ting that stinks is that my dog is now quarantined to my property. She is an Australian shepherd that needs lots of exercise, so I can't take her for long walks, she is already going nutty.

 

[Obliviax]

you don't have to sue, just threaten it.

then, hopefully, you settle...both dropping your intents to sue.

 

[ClarkstonMark]

sounds like you were an asshole! Why didn't you just let them finish their job?

 

[NittPicker]

Originally posted by hlstone:
Cletus, I want to press charges on trespassing, My wife is against it.

The ting that stinks is that my dog is now quarantined to my property. She is an Australian shepherd that needs lots of exercise, so I can't take her for long walks, she is already going nutty.

I don't think trespassing will fly unless the guys were given prior notice either by posting, verbally, etc. Were they five feet across the property line or a hundred feet and looking into your windows. Some people are so damned uptight nowadays. GET OFF MY LAWN!!!!

 

[PaoliLion]

did he kick your dog, provoking the bite? was he trespassing

Dogs just don't randomly bite people

 

[ILLINOISLION]

Get A Basset Hound - They'll Lick Any Trespassers You Ever Have! *


*

 

[Jason1743]

Call your home owners insurance carrier and let them handle it. Unless you have a sub standard policy financially you will be covered. If you try to handle it yourself, THEN you might have potential liability if your insurance company doesn't like the way you handled things and denies coverage. Your only concern should be the well being of your dog that they don't want to put him down as a menace. From your story this seems unlikely. .

 

[MontereyLion]

What does that mean? Did he get stitches?

 

[lionlurker]

Your homeowners insurance will cover it.

It's actually an extremely common claim, and they do this stuff without even blinking. There's a formula they will use to determine how much to pay the guy. I think it actually is THE most common claim against homeowners insurance.

Now, whether he really got bit or not is another story.

 

[hlstone]

Clark, yes I was being a bit of an asshole, This is the 3rd time and 3rd different company my neighbor has used to survey the property in the past 4 years.The day before, the survey guys drove their truck in my icy driveway, they got stuck and just revved and revved until they finally got out at 6 a.m. I was gearing up to help them as they left.

I would not have been as much as an asshole if they asked permission,

 

[WDLion]

Apparently your crazy neighbor didn't warn

the surveyor to watch out for his whacky neighbor .

 

[hlstone]

Monterey, i was told surface wound, that did not break skin. I am guessing that is a scratch.

The thing that worries me, is ... My dog did bite someone before. So I am afraid she will have 2 strikes, even though she did not bite him.

 

[hlstone]

Re: Apparently your crazy neighbor didn't warn

WDL, that was gold... I am a whacky neighbor, but usually in the good way.

 

[njlion73]

Contact your insurance company and let them handle contact with the guy. Trespassing would be a criminal charge and you would need to press charges through the police, unless you can show he caused damage to your property.

Has your dog ever bitten anyone before? If not, there is a good chance you would not be considered negligent even if the guy can prove he was bitten. However, you will have to be careful in the future as you would be on notice of possible aggressive behavior by your dog.

Also, be careful to not violate the quarantine. If you do, the cops may take your dog and keep him quarantined in a pen.

 

[PSU73]

Joining this late, but I assume you have but if not, you should immediately make all the notes you can on the interaction i.e. things said, times, how you handled your dog, etc.
You were probably unreasonable for not letting them conduct the survey, though I suspect your actions were driven by their not advising you of their presence and also not inquiring about your dog, especially after it was going nuts.
Things you might want to document.
Were these people actual surveyors or were they with the fence company doing there pre-install "survey".
Was your dog wearing the collar device as provided for the invisible fence?
Did your dog cross the invisible fence and/or were the surveyors ever inside its perimeter.
Did any of your neighbors witness any part of what happened. Inquire with them.
When the police called you about the alleged bite, did you say that your dog did not bite him? If so, did he say he'd note it in the report. It is important that the person said the dog did it while on the lease and therefore in your presence. Now he can not claim it happened prior when you were not present. Is that clarification in the police report? Did the police officer observe the claimed bite injury?

You have info from the hospital report, which is interesting. Just curious who shared info with you off that report and do you have more than you just mentioned?

Edited addition:
Research the "survey" company by going to the BBB website. See if there are any complaints, etc. You can usually get the name of the owner and other key people. You may want to contact the owner to see if this was reported. Judge what you do next based on letting the owner talk about what he knows. Maybe the person is acting rogue and maybe hasn't established themselves with the owner. Not likely, but the business owner may be "friendly" on this. It could be a problem employee. He is going to have to have the other person corroborate on this.
I am surprised this person went to the ER for treatment, especially if this was just a surface wound.
Where was the wound? Do you recall in talking with this person if they showed any signs of a wound that may have existed prior?
This post was edited on 3/30 6:38 PM by PSU73

 

[paulrandythomas]

A crossbow...


...for home protection would have solved all of this. Lesson learned for all of us.

 

[cment]

My dog has bitten two people(one on the behind and the other on the hand). Luckily we were not sued. Did a lot of research on the subject and the posts above are right, call your insurance company asap. There are certain breeds that insurance wont cover Depending on which state you live in. My wife was horrified bcause it happened under her watch ehile i was at work. Dear wife lived the dog but thought he was crazy. I almost put the dog down after the first time, but my wife found the best dog "shrink" outfit in the world at UPenn. 6 month wait list. Finally after 6 hours and over $1000 with a group of five shrinks at UPenn observi ng the dog, we got this diagnosis:
Your dog might have territorial agression.
Your dog might have fear aggresiion

But the best;
Your dog is fine. (Aka- he aint going to go Cujo on you)

All dogs will bite under a certain circumstance.

Consider putting a 'true fence' in to replace the invisible fence.

You now know your dog can be aggressive, so he should be monitored outside at all times.

Get him a friend. It MIGHT help.
(We just got a puppy in October and he settled down A LOT)
Posted from Rivals Mobile

 

[hlstone]

Wow thank you guys, so much!!!! I will show this to my wife when she gets home from work.

Any input is still appreciated.

And don't worry about calling me a jerkface, I can be at times.

 

[MontereyLion]

Holy crap. A scratch....no stitches. Obviously he was just trying to get back at you.
Play out his bluff. File for trespassing. Let him know if he sues you, you will sue
him back for being a wuss.

 

[PSU_Nut]

Originally posted by Cletus11:
Call up your home insurance policy and see what they say, you might be covered. If not, I would go on the offensive and tell him that you are suing him for trespassing. If he knows you are going to fight and fight hard, he will be less likely to sue. I would also tell him your cousin (or some family member) is a lawyer and will be representing you for free.

Bad advice. Any attorney would call his bluff right away. Unless they damaged his property then he has no civil case. Living and trumping things up is no way to Perdue this. If he wants he could file a police report for trespassing. That would be his best bet.

 

[hlstone]

Originally posted by PSU73:

Joining this late, but I assume you have but if not, you should immediately make all the notes you can on the interaction i.e. things said, times, how you handled your dog, etc.
You were probably unreasonable for not letting them conduct the survey, though I suspect your actions were driven by their not advising you of their presence and also not inquiring about your dog, especially after it was going nuts.
Things you might want to document.
Were these people actual surveyors or were they with the fence company doing there pre-install "survey".
Was your dog wearing the collar device as provided for the invisible fence?Yes
Did your dog cross the invisible fence and/or were the surveyors ever inside its perimeter.No/yes
Did any of your neighbors witness any part of what happened. Inquire with them.NO
When the police called you about the alleged bite, did you say that your dog did not bite him? If so, did he say he'd note it in the report. It is important that the person said the dog did it while on the lease and therefore in your presence. Now he can not claim it happened prior when you were not present. Is that clarification in the police report? Did the police officer observe the claimed bite injury?YES/don't know/ Officer did observe a scratch.

You have info from the hospital report, which is interesting. Just curious who shared info with you off that report and do you have more than you just mentioned?The dog warden told me.

Edited addition:
Research the "survey" company by going to the BBB website. See if there are any complaints, etc. You can usually get the name of the owner and other key people. You may want to contact the owner to see if this was reported. Judge what you do next based on letting the owner talk about what he knows. Maybe the person is acting rogue and maybe hasn't established themselves with the owner. Not likely, but the business owner may be "friendly" on this. It could be a problem employee. He is going to have to have the other person corroborate on this.
I am surprised this person went to the ER for treatment, especially if this was just a surface wound.
Where was the wound? Do you recall in talking with this person if they showed any signs of a wound that may have existed prior?
This post was edited on 3/30 6:38 PM by PSU73

I tried to answer your questions in bold text. Thank you for responding, It was helpful,

 

[lein]

Go to the local magistrates office, maybe you could file a citizens arrest charge of trespassing on both the individual and the business. Basically you would just swear a statement and if the magistrate is worth his/her salt, they'll send a citation.

 

[DonP74]

Find an attorney friend who can scare them off. If a scratch, this sounds like nonsense to me.