What is a person’s potential liability if they accidentally knock a person down while walking their dog?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
What is a person’s potential liability if they accidentally knock a person down while walking their dog?
My wife and her guide dog were out for a walk. They passed an elderly women. My wife’s guide dog misjudged the clearance and my wife lightly bumped the lady. It was a light brush of the shoulders but given the ladies age, that was all it took; she fell and hit her head and had to be taken to the hospital. Do we have any liability?
Asked on October 11, 2014 under Personal Injury, California
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 10 years ago | Contributor
While it's impossible to answer your question definitively, from what you write, you most likely would not be liable. Liability for personal injury is based on fault; fault is based either on an intentional bad act (which this wasn't), or on "negligence," which is "unreasonable carelessness"--and from what you write, your wife was not doing anything unreasonably careless. Without an intentional bad act or negligence, there should be no liability.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.