Dog bite costs owner $48,000

Press, 23 June 1986, Page 12

Dog bite costs owner $48,000

NZPA-AAP Sydney A motor mechanic who was bitten by a customer’s dog was awarded sAust3B,29s ($48,200) damages in the Supreme Court in Sydney. Mr Justice Mclnerney said that on December 4, 1983, the plaintiff, Warwick Stanley Burrows, aged 30, was at a motor accessory business he part-owned in Goulburn, southern New South Wales.

Another local resident, Mark Winters, came to the shop and said he wanted a stereo and airconditioning unit fitted to his flat-deck truck. Mr Burrows followed Mr Winters outside to inspect the truck. Standing in the back of the vehicle was a dog which Mr Burrows thought was an old English sheepdog.

Mr Burrows stood on the running board and patted the dog, which bit him on the right arm just above the elbow and hung on. When the dog released its grip, Mr Burrows fell

to the ground. The dog was an Irish wolfhound. Mr Justice Mclnerney said Mr Winters claimed that Mr Burrows should not have approached the dog as it was common knowledge in Goulburn the dog was vicious. However, his Honour said it was quite common for people to pat dogs, particularly when they were not alerted to any danger. He found Mr Winters was guilty of negligence in allowing a dog known to have attacked other people to stand on the back of the truck in Goulburn’s main street without a chain, leash, or muzzel. His Honour rejected a claim that Mr Burrows was guilty of contributory negligence. He said the dog’s bite had damaged a nerve in Mr Burrows’ arm and he was left with continuing pain and altered sensation in his hand. This had reduced his earning capacity and his ability to play his favourite sport, golf.