Contractor hit my dog with truck on my property?

Question

The general contractor we hired to work on our house drove out to our property yesterday hit one of our dogs with his truck while driving up our long driveway. (Our dogs are contained by invisible fence, and they have NEVER crossed that fence line, so we knew the injury occured on our property.) We found our dog injured when we got home, took her to the vet, not knowing what had happened, and the vet confirmed it was not animal attack but "road rash"...she got multiple stitches, no broken bones, but so sore she can hardly walk. We talked to a neighbor who was outside working on a fence all day and saw the contractor's truck arrive. He said he heard a "commotion" and that if "anyone hit your dog, it was that red truck". The 1st three times we called the contractor, he hung up on us without answering. Finally, he answered & said the dogs were "close to the truck but he didn't THINK he had hit one". We knew he did it but he didn't want to admit. Do we have any legal recourse?

I've scanned thru some of these responses and to those of you who say the dog should be TIED UP or LEASHED at all times..what is WRONG with you? If you know anything about invisible fence you'd know it keeps a dog safely on the property. Why would someone own a dog to keep it TIED to something? A dog needs to be OUTSIDE, and mine are outside, confined on my property. You who say that the dog should be tied at all times, I hope you don't own a dog. That's just cruel. The dog was injured at someone ELSE's negligence on MY property. I'm turning off now and not reading any more responses, people are crazy. For those of you who offered more reasonable and KIND advice, thank you.

Answer 1

"Contractor hit my dog with truck on my property? The general contractor we hired to work on our house drove out to our property yesterday hit one of our dogs with his truck while driving up our long driveway. Do we have any legal recourse?"

The quick answer to your question is "Yes, you do have legal recourse."

Technically, the contractor has to exercise reasonable care while on your land so that he doesn't damage your property. In the eyes of the law, your dog is your property. And the contractor is responsible for damage to that property just as he would be if he ran over a mail box or a lawn ornament that was clearly visible.

That said, you don't actually have an eyewitness unless your next door neighbor can testify to something more than "a commotion." And it is possible that the dog came up on the contractor's truck unseen-- while the contractor drove up your driveway at a reasonable speed and with ordinary care. A small claims' court judge would almost definitely ask why you didn't secure the dog if you knew a contractor was going to visit your property.

While the contractor has a significant degree of responsibility, that the contractor might have a run-in with the dogs (since they run free in the yard) is an event that you could have foreseen and done something about. So, while you do have legal recourse, a judge might find that you didn't exercise reasonable care to mitigate the possible damage. You did invite the contractor onto your property. and you did choose to let the animal run free.

I'm not sure what you want to accomplish. If the guy had called and apologized for hitting your dog, would you feel better or would you still want to recover the vet costs from him? I suspect that part of your discontent is over the way the contractor has handled it.

If that's true-- fire him and get someone else to finish the work. Explain that you believe he hit your dog and that since he didn't own up to it you don't have a very good opinion of him. But if it's about the money, then send him a letter telling him that you expect him to reimburse you for the vets fees. Include a copy of the bill. Small claims court is an option-- as is Judge Judy-- but is it worth the hassle for you?

Just remember, this guy's working on your property-- presumably while you aren't there. Do you really want to make a bigger conflict? Whatever you do, make sure you pay him for the work he's done. He's entitled to that money. And you can get some of it back for the vet bills if you take the appropriate steps to do so.

Personally, I'd take it as a lesson learned. Tell him how much you spent at the vet and ask him to be more careful in the future. And if you know he's coming, put the dogs up for that brief time. I feel for you-- I too see the joy my dog feels when she can run free in a field-- especially when there's a rabbit or squirrel to chase. But better to deprive the dog of a day running free than risk the harm of road rash from a oblivious contractor.

[This is not legal advice. You should consult a licensed attorney-at-law for legal advice or representation before making decisions that may affect your legal rights.]

Answer 2

With an invisible fence on your lot, it would be impossible for an invited party (contractor) to know where this fence lies. I would chalk it up to a lesson learned that while you have workers on your property you should never leave your dogs unattended. If the tables had turned and the contractor had stepped over the invisible fence and your dogs had bitten him you would be looking at a Law suit. It is certainly an unfortunate incident and I hope the dog recovers quickly. I think an apology is in order.

Answer 3

What do you think you deserve? Go the route of a $500 mini-tort. It is likely he will have his insurance quickly settle and make this payment. That should be sufficient for the vet bills. I'm sure you will find a lawyer that will tell you that you are entitled to more but the reality is that most settlements get reduced by a judge but not the fees the lawyers charge. Remember how people don't like to do jury duty and they are not often in a good mood when being forced to attend to such matters, they do not hand out awards as often as people think. Also, they, as do I, may feel that you are as much of a negligent party.

Answer 4

first off it is your property that your dog is unleashed on so you should have a case since it is YOUR property but without witnesses that actually saw it occur it will be tough proving your point in court because the contractor can deny it like he did when you confronted him and if you mention your neighbor saying if anyone hit it it was that red truck then unless the neighbor actually seen it take place the judge can say that it is hear say god i hope you dog gets well soon i cant imagine how hard it is on you ive had my dog for over 10 years and she is like a sister to me i know it sounds crazy but we basically grew up together considering i was very young and she was a pup g00d luck and main thing is that ur doggy gets better just be there as much as you can for him/her as for the contractor he sounds like a real piece of $hit but you know how it is everyone denys everything to get out of trouble or a lawsuit go0d luck

Answer 5

You are. Your dog was not on a leash, running in the road where a dog does not belong. Even if you could somehow prove that the driver was going too fast, which is impossible unless he braked, your dog was still somewhere that is meant for cars and trucks. The road should not be an obstacle course for drivers--besides being a danger to himself, your dog was a danger to drivers as well, who could have had an accident trying to avoid him. Your dog got hit by no fault of the driver. The fault, I'm sorry to say, lies in the hands of the owner.

Answer 6

that happened to me one day.my dog was outside with his brother playing when they were 5 months old.he was in the front yard and i live in the country on braun rd. so we have a ditch in our front when suddenly some guy sped up went into the ditch and hit my dog he wouldnt even stop he just kept going so my dog went all the way around the tire and flew out back into the ditch he died that day because his lungs filled up with blood on the way to the vet we tried to sue him but the judge said it was an accident and to let it go now our dogs cannot run freely bacause we fear he may come back and do it again.today the dog that died's brothers name is harvey and he is about a year now.so theres not really anything u can do about it except hope it doesnt happen again and be grateful the dog didnt die.

Answer 7

The idea of not paying your contractor is a really bad one- unless you are interested in having a lien placed on your property.
Most contractors purchase material for the job on credit using the $ you pay him to pay the material suppliers.
If you don't pay him and he in turn is unable to pay the material suppliers that have supplied materials to your job site, the suppliers of those materials have the right to place a lien on your property in order to secure payment for those materials.

The contractor may not be interested in going through the trouble to collect , but the material suppliers will. (I know because I handle A/R at a building components supplier. I fill out the paperwork to secure liens)
You could take him to small claims court if you feel it is worth it, but ticking off your contractor is a bit like ticking off your hairdresser best not do it until the job is done.

Answer 8

Let it go. Wasting your money in court.Think of the cost to prove a point. Sorry about your dog, you can find a way to settle it out of court. You do have to pay them for a job correct? Collect the cost of the vet that way. Hang up the first time,when he does answer tell him"I think I wrote the check close to the amount but I am not sure"Let me go ask my dog, I'll get back to you when he answers.

Answer 9

Yeah, the neighbor can testify that something happened.

And if nothing else, your homeowner's insurance will pay the bill. The guy you hired damaged your property, he is insured for things like this, and if he isnt threaten to sue him, he would rather pay a couple hundred bucks than go into court and explain why he isnt covered or why he is reckless.

Answer 10

OMG that's a sin!!!! How could he possibly hit a dog and leave it there to suffer? You can't honestly tell me he didn't see that dog limping away. Someone should kick his *ss. How would he like it if someone did that to his kid?
I would consult with a lawyer, there's got to be a way to make him pay for what he did. Not to mention animal cruelty!!!!Jerk. Good luck, hop e the pooch is okay now.