Have you been attacked by a police dog?
We specialise in police dog claims and have recently recovered compensation for two clients who were attacked by a police dog in separate incidents.
In the first case the police had been contesting our client’s compensation claim until news broke that the police dog who had attacked our client had later been shot by officers after he attacked his own police handler. Within hours of the story breaking, we were contacted by the solicitors representing the police to confirm that they wished to accept an offer of settlement we had previously put forward.
The story has attracted widespread press interest, with the Daily Mail among other publications featuring the case and quoting our own James McNally, the solicitor who dealt with the claim — https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12402237/Police-dog-shot-dead-armed-officers-biting-handler-previously-attacked-woman-leaving-seriously-injured.html
In the other case our client, Ms M, succeeded in her claim against Avon and Somerset Police after she was attacked by a police dog.
At the time of the incident Ms M, a paramedic, was assisting police officers in locating a young girl and her carer who had found themselves lost in the woods. Ms M noted that the police dog had been particularly excitable throughout the evening, at one stage jumping up and ripping an officer’s coat.
The police dog handler climbed over a fence and told Ms M to wait, before confirming that it was safe for her to also climb over. However, suddenly and without warning the police dog lurched at Ms M. The dog handler was unable to restrain the dog which then bit Ms M on her leg.
Lawyer and Partner, Jasmine Moxey-Butler, agreed to deal with Ms M’s compensation claim on a no win – no fee basis. We contacted the legal department for Avon and Somerset Police and while they initially denied some of the allegations Jasmine was able to secure an admission of negligence from the Force.
Ms M was seen by an independent GP practitioner, at no cost to her, and we used the medical report to agree an out of court settlement with the Police’s legal team.
If you’ve been attacked by a police dog and would like to know whether you are entitled to recover compensation for your injuries then contact our specialist police compensation lawyers for a free, no obligation case assessment on etc or email us at [email protected].