My dog was hit by a contractor in my driveway..... Is his insurance able to cover my bills?

[hockeybc69]

Hard topic to describe.

We got hit hard by hail on July 1st.

We have had contractors in and out trying to sell their business.

Yesterday a guy pulled in my driveway and hit my 15 month old yellow lab. (The little girl in my avatar actually)

She got her back leg pinned under his tire when he stopped. My son saw it happen and I cant even describe the look on his poor face when he came running through the door. And when he said, "Brie just got hit by a truck?"; I cant describe what happened to me.

Brie came out of this with very minimal damage. I have no clue how, but she has no broken bones. Just lacerations and abrasions on the inside of her right rear leg.

The guy was just distraught and I tried to comfort him to say my dog ran out of the woods.

In the same breath, now I am wondering if I can at least get my bills paid for.

We are probably looking at about $400-$500 when this is all said and done. Not major, but Brie was on my property when he pulled in on my driveway and hit her about 50 ft up my driveway.

So this is nothing about road right-of-ways or even on the township road.

Should/could their insurance or bonding cover my bills???

I cant believe her. She is using the leg, and isnt showing severe distress. To imagine that her leg was pinned under his front tire and he had to back up to get her out,,,, just isnt something I can comprehend.

Soooo soooo lucky for her.

My poor son wont even talk about it. He told me last night to drop it and just stared at the floor.

Knowing how close he is with her just makes it so much more special that she is doing so good. He spent all day with her today and babied her.

So anyway, back on topic. What can I do???

[LightningBG]

Honestly, for $500, I don't think any insurance companies should be involved.

Either your or his deductible would be higher than $500. Ask them to pay out of pocket. If they refuse, you can either pay yourself or bring it to small claims for damaging your property, and let the judge decide.

[hockeybc69]

Proof of skid mark with white dog hair...

Not the bird [PoorWordUsage] on the left side of the skid.

You can see white hair the entire length of the skid on the right side of the tread.

OUCH!!!!!!!!!!

And the resulting wound.

[Ufatz]

Everyone here is delighted your dog escaped worse or longer term injury. He will get over it quickly and move on.

Since it appears no second or third party is going to pay for your vet bills perhaps you should do the same and move on to another subject.

Like whether there will be an NFL season? Will Favre go for one more season? Will the women's soccer team win the World? How will fall walleye fishing go this season? Can Paris Hilton ever find something useful to do?

Stay busy. Give your canine pal a pat on the head from all of us. Be thankful.

[eyeguy 54]

if you would have hired me right away I would have put a yard sign up and kept everybody away and pooch would be safe. ya putz! lol

[skolvikesallday]

so let me get this straight, the guy pulls into your driveway UNSOLICITED going obviously too fast (skidmarks) and hits your dog..

I can't believe you even had to ask here...

OF COURSE HE HAS TO PAY. Take his sorry [PoorWordUsage] to court if you have to but unless I missed something he was trespassing on your property and had no right to be there. I dont care if your dog ran full speed into his truck while he was stopped. What the hell was he doing on your property in the first place? Trying to sell you [PoorWordUsage] and make money off you. If you called him to come out it is a different situation but if he came unsolicited he better be paying EVERY LAST DIME of any costs associated with this... including future complications with the dogs leg.

People have to learn that private property is private property. He had no right to pull into your driveway, especially going fast enough to cause skid marks. You could also force him to pay for a new driveway as he obviously put an ugly skid mark there as well. Why should you have to pay a single dime for his idiotic and illegal actions?

I'd talk to him, ask for $1000... for the dog and the cosmetic damage to the driveway. If he balks then talk to a lawyer. A good lawyer could get him to pay 5x that (plus your lawyer fees of course)

[CJH]

Why should you have to pay a single dime for his idiotic and illegal actions?

I'd talk to him, ask for $1000... for the dog and the cosmetic damage to the driveway. If he balks then talk to a lawyer. A good lawyer could get him to pay 5x that (plus your lawyer fees of course)

Bullroar. This is exactly why you don't go to a Fishing Forum to get legal advice.

Tom above is a lawyer and he has already stated the opposite of this, based on his experience and knowledge of the law. I have to say I agree with him.

As far as the kids vs dog thing - completely different under the law.

[skolvikesallday]

Bullroar. This is exactly why you don't go to a Fishing Forum to get legal advice.

Tom above is a lawyer and he has already stated the opposite of this, based on his experience and knowledge of the law. I have to say I agree with him.

As far as the kids vs dog thing - completely different under the law.

Unless Im missing something the contractor is 100% in the wrong and liable. Unless you are saying that it if ok if I go to someones house, unsolicited, try to sell them [PoorWordUsage], and then damage their property. Again, unless im missing something this is what it boils down to.

Some guy came to his house uninvited and damaged his property (the dog as well as the driveway) I don't see how he shouldn't have to pay for any and ALL damages he caused. This country is messed up though and I guess it wouldnt surprise me if the contractor was somehow able to get away with this. But that doesnt change the fact that it was 100% his fault.

Put it this way... if the contractor hadn't pulled into his driveway his dog would be unharmed and the skid mark wouldn't be there. But he did pull into the driveway, therefore the damages are his fault.

[hockeybc69]

Cripes. I didnt mean to start a sh!tstorm on this subject.

I just asked a question, thinking maybe by luck there would be someone on here that may be in the business or maybe know.

I didnt want to call the contractor and make a big stink until I had a little info/comfort level about the situation.

I am not hiring any lawyers. I am not out for blood. I simply wanted to know if anyone could advise if maybe I could get my bills paid for. I think this sux butt that I have to shell out up to $500 because some door to door salesman smashed my dog. Stay off my property and we wouldnt be having this discussion.....

I have VERY clearly stated multiple times..... If this goes nowhere, thats fine. My dog is doing remarkably well and shouldnt have any long term issues. I am very grateful, and I pat her on the head, get kisses and hug her daily.

[hockeybc69]

Quote:

I can't believe you even had to ask here...

OF COURSE HE HAS TO PAY.

skolvikes,

If a kid comes on my property unsolicited and drowns in my pond, I have a big problem to deal with.

Its not my fault he wandered over and cant swim and dies.....

I asked, because legal matters are nothing short of very clouded.... And I didnt come here for legal advice, just figured maybe there would be a contractor or three that might know from their own business how it would work. Or find a lawyer like Tom7227.

I am not using this as my pathway for a legal battle.

[brainard6]

Sadly but I don't think he is at fault. I say that because I have a co work who kind of had the same situation. The guy took his dog to get the mail at the end of his driveway It was winter time and his dog was hit by a snowmobiler. The snowmobiler was riding in the ditch and the dog was hit in his drive way when the snowmobiler jumped his driveway. Sadly to say the dog was killed. The cops came out and they said since the dog was not on a leash the dog owner was at fault.

[hanson]

I just want to add a hypothetical to make the discussion more fun.

What if the homeowner had a pet fence, invisible fence or the like installed where the dog was clearly obedient and contained by said fence. The driveway is included in the invisible fence area. Is the dog then "at large".

I'm not a sue happy guy at all but in this situation, I'm going after the guy.

And please people, do NOT give any service to contractors chasing storm damage. Deal with an established, local contractor. If you ever need warranty work or (MY GOD...) have to file a lawsuit, the guy who did your work is out of town and you'll never find him again. Its easy to give these contractors your work who say they'll deal with insurance, fix your problem, yadda, yadda, yadda... don't bite!!

Thank God your dog is alright!!

[mn_bowhunter]

If I hit someone's dog and the vet bills were only $500 I would pony up the cash in a heartbeat. It's bad business sense for this guy to not offer to pay. Word of mouth is any business's best friend when it's good, and when it's bad it can be devastating. Although he may not be legally obligated to pay I'd have a hard time sleeping at night knowing I was responsible and didn't own up to it.

[hockeybc69]

Quote:

Sadly but I don't think he is at fault. I say that because I have a co work who kind of had the same situation. The guy took his dog to get the mail at the end of his driveway It was winter time and his dog was hit by a snowmobiler. The snowmobiler was riding in the ditch and the dog was hit in his drive way when the snowmobiler jumped his driveway.

Not the same situation. If the snowmobiler was in the ditch, that was likely road right of way.

This guy hit my dog 50 ft up my driveway... My property 100%.

This is a VERY interesting subject as it goes on..... I hope a lot of people are reading this and scratching their chins,,,, wondering "what if this was me??"

We might all learn a little or a lot from this. I know I am.

Brie is happy today, sucking on the face of her black lab stuffed animal once again....

[Whoaru99]

Unless Im missing something the contractor is 100% in the wrong and liable. Unless you are saying that it if ok if I go to someones house, unsolicited, try to sell them [PoorWordUsage], and then damage their property. Again, unless im missing something this is what it boils down to.

Some guy came to his house uninvited and damaged his property (the dog as well as the driveway) I don't see how he shouldn't have to pay for any and ALL damages he caused. This country is messed up though and I guess it wouldnt surprise me if the contractor was somehow able to get away with this. But that doesnt change the fact that it was 100% his fault.

Put it this way... if the contractor hadn't pulled into his driveway his dog would be unharmed and the skid mark wouldn't be there. But he did pull into the driveway, therefore the damages are his fault.

Well, I'm certainly not a lawyer, but yeah, I think you're missing something.

First, I don't believe it is inherently trespassing to drive up someone's driveway unless it is specifically marked "no tresspassing" or you have been previously told not to, because the fact a driveway exists inherently indicates a pathway for vehicle travel.

Also, as far as solicitation, I think that has been mentioned as well. May not be specifically forbidden to do door-to-door type of sales unless you specifically post "no solicitation".

Then, about damage to the driveway, it's already been acknowledged the dog ran out in front of the truck and the damage (on the stretch it could be considered as such) was done trying to avoid hitting the dog. It's not like the guy stopped to do a big smokey burnout and intentionally melted a couple holes in the tar.

[hockeybc69]

I do have a sign screwed to a tree next to the driveway that I bought at Cabelas....

He did say he was looking at it when he pulled in, and had never a sign like that before.

It may not be a No Tresspassing sign, but it would seem like a warning sign to some degree to me.

[Macgyver55]

Quote:

First, I don't believe it is inherently trespassing to drive up someone's driveway unless it is specifically marked "no tresspassing" or you have been previously told not to, because the fact a driveway exists inherently indicates a pathway for vehicle travel.

If Joe Random decides to wheel into your driveway, how long would he have to stay there for it to become "trespassing" in your opinion?

[Whoaru99]

If Joe Random decides to wheel into your driveway, how long would he have to stay there for it to become "trespassing" in your opinion?

When I go tell them to leave and they don't. The timing of the order to leave is probably after I observe what they're doing and decide if it's something innocent that's just going to pass, or it's something more than that.

[Whoaru99]

I do have a sign screwed to a tree next to the driveway that I bought at Cabelas....

He did say he was looking at it when he pulled in, and had never a sign like that before.

It may not be a No Tresspassing sign, but it would seem like a warning sign to some degree to me.

If I was perturbed by people coming up my driveway to try to sell me stuff, or for what ever reason, I'd probably put up official "No Trespassing" and "No Solicitation" signs at the drive entrance.

Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, my house had a "No Soliciting" sign on it just to the left of the front door, above the mailbox, put there by the previous owner. I took it off when I was going to paint the house, which I haven't gotten around to just yet.

[Surface Tension]

Good that your lab is OK.

An old employer of mine had a doberman that would bite my tires the whole way up the driveway.

Neither has anything to do with this topic but thought I'd share.

[Tom7227]

The law regarding trespassing and real property are old and sometimes don't seem to make sense until you know how it developed historically.

A previous poster had it correct - you are not a trespasser on un-posted land until being asked to leave and refusing to do so. Same result in the criminal law - Minn. Stat. §609.605. FYI the statute can't be found right now but it is worth the read.

IMO the contractor did nothing wrong from a negligence standpoint and would not be liable. Dog didn't do anything wrong either. Neither did the dog owner. Falls under the category of "_hit happens"

Finally, unfortunately I am sure you could find a lawyer to take the case. There's a lot of great ones out there who would jump at the chance. Just check out the yellow pages.

[LightningBG]

Setting liability aside.

I think it would be wise to attempt to train that dog not to run after cars (or "greet" people). Maybe it has learned as a result of this accident.

Fact of the matter is, unless you put up a gate at the end of your driveway, people are going to continue to drive up your driveway, uninvited at times. You're likely to have family visit, parents dropping of your kids or friends, UPS, fed ex, etc.

[fishtrapgirl]

Quote: This is a VERY interesting subject as it goes on..... I hope a lot of people are reading this and scratching their chins,,,, wondering "what if this was me??"

Well, what if this was me? I wouldn't spend so much time worrying about a $500 vet bill thats for sure. I would be very thankful my dog was okay after an unfortunate incident and would probably spend a little more time with her. I know I wouldn't be sitting on a forum going round and round about whats right or wrong and who's right or wrong. It's life, bad things happen, this turned out alright. There are far bigger things in life to worry about than a $500 vet bill. It's a part of being a responsible pet owner! Seems like most people nowadays are always trying to place the blame somewhere and hold someone else accountable.

[Ufatz]

Seems like I pretty much said this back.....uh....oh...a few DAYS ago! Ha!

But you be right.

[Northlander]

Quote: This is a VERY interesting subject as it goes on..... I hope a lot of people are reading this and scratching their chins,,,, wondering "what if this was me??"

Well, what if this was me? I wouldn't spend so much time worrying about a $500 vet bill thats for sure. I would be very thankful my dog was okay after an unfortunate incident and would probably spend a little more time with her. I know I wouldn't be sitting on a forum going round and round about whats right or wrong and who's right or wrong. It's life, bad things happen, this turned out alright. There are far bigger things in life to worry about than a $500 vet bill. It's a part of being a responsible pet owner! Seems like most people nowadays are always trying to place the blame somewhere and hold someone else accountable.

X2!

[hockeybc69]

You guys are so right.

Shame on me.

I got the bills paid for. LOL

They did a stand up thing. I sure hope you guys never hit someones dog, cuz those poor folks are gonna have fun reasoning with you people.

Off to the next subject.