A woman who is scared of dogs has lost a damages appeal arising from injuries suffered when she fled at the sight of a large bullmastiff-kelpie in her brother's lounge room.Ummm…
The dog, named Cougar, did not bark or run towards Mileva Novakovic, but she told a judge the animal moved towards her and scared her.And whose fault was that?
As she retreated she slipped and fell, which led to significant injuries requiring surgery that prevented her from returning to work for more than six months.
Ms Novakovic sued Cougar's owners, her brother, Michael Stekovic, and his wife, Snezana Stekovic, in the NSW District Court over the January 2008 incident at their Queanbeyan home.In the US, she’d probably have won! But clearly, they aren’t so gullible down under:
But the judge dismissed her case, finding that the risk of her suffering personal injury was not foreseeable and her reaction was unreasonable.Note that; not ‘a phobia’, or a ‘mental condition’. Just ‘unreasonable’.
How refreshing!
Either the brother had no idea that his own sister had a great fear of dogs or he invited her into a room containing a huge dog knowing that she would be afraid.
ReplyDeleteAs the case doesn't seem to have been about the brother deliberately causing his sister's distress it seems that he had no clue that she would have a problem.
Doesn't this seem a bit odd?
Not at all Anonymous. I have a large Newfoundland dog, I also have a friend that has two smaller dogs whom I have known for several years. It was only a couple of months ago that she told me that she was afraid of large dogs. I wouldn't have known if she hadn't told me.
ReplyDeleteSomething similar to that has been tried before in several Australian states and sometimes in the UK. The 'victim' sues the dog's owner for injuries sustained. The dog's owner contacts insurance company which covers for third party risks. Insurance company pays out. 'Victim' and dog's owner divide the payout. Everybody is happy. In this case it may be that the insurance company has insisted the dog's owner deny liability (or else the company would declare the policy null and void). There were similar scams in Victoria and NSW involving injury road collisions between people who knew each other but these seem to have stopped or slowed down enough not to create media attention. On the other hand it may all be genuine......
ReplyDeletePenseivat
"Doesn't this seem a bit odd?"
ReplyDeleteI think Penseivat has a possible answer!
"I wouldn't have known if she hadn't told me."
She must have hid it well?
"There were similar scams in Victoria and NSW involving injury road collisions between people who knew each other but these seem to have stopped or slowed down enough not to create media attention."
It doesn't take much for the insurance companies to wise up, does it?