Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Dog on a leash hit by a car.

My fiance was walking our dog, on a leash. as she crossed a street and a residential intersection (4-way stop), a car made a left hand turn, and was not paying attention to my fiance crossing the street. My fiance managed to get out of the way, but our dog was hit and drug under the tire about 10 feet. Our dog survived, thankfully, but we've got a very large vet bill to pay now. My fiance managed to get the driver's (supposed) name and phone number, and was smart enough to write down the license plate number. What are our rights regarding having the driver pay our vet bill? I tried to file a police report, but they would not do that. I want to call the woman tomorrow, but I want to understand my rights so I can have an informed discussion when I ask her to pay. We also have the name and contact info for 1 witness, and since it was 1 block from our apartment, a number of our neighbors saw it happen. Thank you!


Asked on 3/27/09, 12:31 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

Robert F. Cohen Law Office of Robert F. Cohen

Re: Dog on a leash hit by a car.

Since the dog was on the leash, your fiancee was being responsible. The car's driver is responsible for the vet bills. You might copy them to send them to the driver. Ask for her insurance information, as well, to make a claim there.

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Answered on 3/27/09, 12:37 am


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