Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Re: dog hit by car

You may be liable for the damage to the car if your dog was out of your yard. If there is a leash law, then you may have been violation of the leash law. However, you may also have a claim for injuries to your dog.

If you have insurance, you may want to refer this to your homeowners insurance company.

I have written about this before at my blog, www.calpiblog.com

Re: dog hit by car

People who are careless and cause injuries or damages to another may be held liable for their damages.

Many homeowners are insured for damages caused by carelessly letting a dog run into a street. However they may chose to defend a claim if the dog was accidentally let out by someone else, if you did not contribute to their accidentally letting the dog out.

Many Cities and Counties have laws that protect people from dogs running at large. Accordingly even if you rent and do not own a home but own a dog it is a good idea to carry renter's insurance that protects you from a suit by someone that either is injured or claims injuries so that you can get a competent attorney to advise you without having to come up with a retainer and so that you can fairly pay for damages you may have responsibility for.

Serious injuries and damages can be caused by a dog running at large and if you caused serious injuries, you would want that person to be fairly compensated.

Money is a poor substitute for good health and will not make up for most of the suffering that injured people go through. This questions poses a good fact presentation for why we all should have adequate liability insurance.