DOG BITES

Injury from Dog Bite

The plaintiff was 19 months old when she was out walking with her mother near her home in Co. Galway when a golden retriever dog came from behind her and clamped his jaws on the child’s head, knocking her over and shaking it. It was claimed in the High Court hearing that the dog kept the child on the ground, face down, while her mother hit and kicked the dog to make it release the grip on her child’s head.

The plaintiff child took the case through her mother.

The injured child was taken to Portiuncula Hospital before being transferred to a Dublin Hospital for further treatment. Here she had surgery to repair multiple scalp lacerations.

The child plaintiff was in hospital for five days and on being discharged she was left with scars on her scalp and upper neck. However, a plastic surgeon reported that all her scars had matured, and no further surgery would be required.

The dog was owned by the defendants, Declan and Ann O’Grady who lived close to the plaintiff child.

It was claimed that the dog caused the attack and bite on the child and that there was a failure in the circumstances to properly control or restrain the dog by the owners. It was argued that the owners ought to have known of the propensity of the dog to attack or bite people who came too close to the O’Grady property. It was further claimed that the defendant dog owners ought to have a proper warning for people walking lawfully near the defendants’ lands or house and that this failure presented a threat to innocent walkers. Finally, it was claimed that the defendants should have had the dog muzzled and this was an additional failure on their part.

The plaintiff reached a settlement of €115,000, which the High Court judge approved of.

Kate Nolan (Suing through her Mother) v Declan and Ann O’Grady High Court (Miss Justice Nuala Jackson) 24 June 2024 (Irish Times, 25 June 2024).