Warning!!! Sad dog story Update 12-6-10

[Woodbutcher]

Three weeks ago I was working in my shop. It is located in the country off a busy road. I saw a full size pickup truck pull in the end of the driveway. My 2 dogs ran down the drive towards the truck. As soon as I saw them I ran to the door but it was to late. The driver never slowed down at all and the front tire went over my 9 year old Soft Coated Wheaton Terriors' mid section. She managed to get 8 ft into the yard and not get hit by the rear wheels. I ran out and scooped her up and raced her to my truck. The driver never said a word. He watched as I closed my shop and got my other dog into my van to race to the Vet. He finally asked me if I called to have service work done at the house. I said NO and raced off to the Vet.
Being a country Vet he could not give my dog the care she needed. He found a collapsed lung and a fractured collar bone. So I drove her 3 hours to an emergency Vet Hospital. They said they could save her so we said go ahead.
The next morning I called the Service company, which is a large National company, that I do have a contract with. But I had not called for any work. This driver had been to the house many times and always stopped and waited for me to get my dogs into my truck. Why he kept going this day I'll never know. The driver had not even mentioned the accident to his manager. When questioned by the manager he said he thought he only ran over her foot. Day 3 the Vice President calls to apologize and says the company will honor it's obligation with the bills. Well, their insurance company has had me fax the bills which by now are extensive and growing daily. Then no return calls at all from them. Today I call for the fourth time and ask for a manager. He gets the claims guy on the phone and he tells me they are working with legal to see what they have to pay. Seems the laws have changed in the last few years.
NOW TO MY Question. Has anyone ever had this happen to them? We have spent many thousands saving Baileys life and now they say we will see what the legalities are. She has recovered from the lung problem but has serious skin damage from the tire. Can some one come onto your property uninvited, cause serious injuries to your pet and then just have to pay a small amount that may only cover a fraction of our bills? I don't think I should have to pay for his negligence. Or worse put my dog down! Any advise would be appreciated.

Here is Bailey in better times.

[Oasis Maker]

I'm very sorry about your dog, but the best advice you could possibly get on this forum is the advice to consult an attorney. That is exactly what the other side is doing and you need to know legally where you stand in this too.

It's easy for me to say this because I'm not the one hurting, but try not to let your emotions get the better of you right now and keep a clear head. There's a lot at stake with your Vet bills, so whatever the legal framework is, let your attorney fight for you.

Scott

P.S. Our "Angel Prayer List" thread is for all loved ones - dogs too. Place Bailey in that sacred circle.

[S. Heisley]

Sorry to hear about what happened to your dog. I love dogs and it pains me to hear when anything bad happens to one. I hope she makes it back to health okay. Sometimes, with good care, the fur will grow back over the wounds and the dog will look and feel no worse for the incident.

Whether the driver is liable depends on what the leash laws are in your area. Where I live, it is illegal to allow your dog to run loose in your yard unless the dog is enclosed within a fenced area. Further, if there was damage to the vehicle, the dog owner may be liable for that, as well as being fined for not following the law. It would be best to find out by asking Animal Control before you push the company's buttons. It sounds like the driver was a dipsh#! or just didn't care; however, he may have actually been in shock and/or didn't know what to do. The company will be watching their back and looking for ways to get out of paying. If either the driver or the company were to give you any money, it could be construed as admitting guilt and could open them up for a nasty law case that they wouldn't want to deal with.

[CAJUN LADY]

Adding Bailey to our prayer thread (thanks Scott). Just talk to her when you visit her (unless she is already home) and tell her she is strong, loved and fight. She's a real beauty - will send up a special healing prayer for Bailey.

[madjack]

...I truly hate to say this...consult a lawyer..................................................................

[Woodbutcher]

Thanks for the kind words all. We are out in the country so I don't believe there are any leash laws. It was only a few years ago that we had to start registering our dogs with the County.
Scott, you make good sense with the legal advise. I did not want to get to "legal" till I found out what they were going to do. I will most likely have to go that route soon.
I have to say that this is one tough little dog. She has made it through some real tough stuff. When we visited here in ICU right after she was admitted she could just lift her head a bit, but that little stub tail was going a mile a minute. We believe that if she has this much will to live we owe her the best care we can get. Won't get a new car or a fancy vacation anytime soon. But if she recovers and has some good years left that will be worth it. We may rename her " Ferrari" for what this has cost so far.

I also appreciate the prayers, I know she's just a dog, but she doesn't know that. For right now I'm not telling her either!

[oklahomajewel]

So sorry to hear about all that.

I thought maybe Planovet would post something, just from a vet's perspective and if he's known of a similar situation.

[caseydog]

I am a big dog person -- many folks in South Central call me "Dog."

A dog running lose on public roads makes me mad at the owner, but if your dog was on your private property, and was run over on your driveway, I'd say the driver was not paying attention -- especially if he had been to your property before, and knew you had dogs. How can you run over a dog in a driveway? You should be driving at a crawl on a driveway.

I hope this doesn't become a battle between law firms to see who can make more money off of this.

Stand tough. Make the company who owns that truck and employs it's driver pay for your dog's treatment.

We humans have to understand that dogs and other animals are not as as high up on the evolutionary chain as we are (or should be), and make adjustments. It is our responsibility to look out for them. Why? Because we CAN.

CD

[mandy]

You're right this is a sad story. I hope your dog makes a full recovery.

[Laredo]

Stand tough. Make the company who owns that truck and employs it's driver pay for your dog's treatment.

We humans have to understand that dogs and other animals are not as as high up on the evolutionary chain as we are (or should be), and make adjustments. It is our responsibility to look out for them. Why? Because we CAN.

On your land. Your dog. In your yard.
You didn't have a service call in with this guy.
He was, technically, trespassing.
You need a *good* lawyer.

[Betsey]

Steve,

I am so sorry to hear of Bailey's accident & injuries. We will keep you all in our prayers.

Betsey

[queeniejeanne]

Bailey didn't ask to be hit by a large multi wheeled vehicle...the guy driving will be ultimately responsible, I guarantee you!...the company has a policy and procedure manual and it will turn the blame on the driver. He will be gone and your still out your dog's pain and a lot of money and time to lose, cause he doesn't have any money for sure.
The professional courtesies extended from lawyer to lawyer will only cost you money....get a lawyer to write a sharp letter of intent to the company's insurance with the bottom line money required to make it go away.
That may only cost $100.00.
I wrote my own letter one time and called my lawyer to approve it and allow me to add cc: with his name. cost me a bill of $75.00 and never heard from the screwy electrician again.

Hope some of this can be of use in your state.....Mainly I am truly hurt by your dogs pain and the driver's ignorance in the emergency. Good Luck and my Great Spirit is very powerful...........Queenie Jeanne

[planovet]

...I truly hate to say this...consult a lawyer.

This.

In my experience, some people will pay and some won't. I'm not much for litigation in most matters but if it's that much money and your dog's life hangs in the balance then you need to make them pay. Sometimes a lawyer is the only thing to get their attention.

I hope your dog gets better soon.

[Ratkity]

Healing hugs for your furkid!

Hugs,
Ratkity

[Woodbutcher]

Thanks again for all your kind words. Neither Bailey or my wife and I asked for this. We were all minding our own business when this guy raced in the driveway. I have trained 4 dogs to the stay away from the road. They were 30 yards on their own property when struck. Had she been out in traffic it would have been all my fault and all the costs would be up to me. But that was not the case. The day I arrived at the Vet Hospital we had to give them 5K just to get her through the next 3 days. No time to call an insurance company to see what they were going to do. We needed to make an instant decision. Once they felt they could save her we said go ahead. Bailey has been a great dog and constant companion for 9 years. We owed her that. By the time the insurance contacted us we were already way into the costs. All they said was send us the bills you have so far. We are over 12K now and still going. But she has made a lot of improvement and how do you stop paying once you start. I could never look her in the eyes and say sorry Bailey you are costing us to much money we may never recover. If there was some sort of schedule that they have to follow then that should have been the first thing the insurance company said to me. They should be responsible for the damages as they did not allow me to mitigate my losses. Not that I would have. But their complaceity continured to cost me money. These type of Vet Hospitals want to be paid as you go. We are paying every few days.
I know that I may need a lawyer and I truly hate that thought. Not sure I want to throw bad money after bad money. We have spent enough. But it seems so wrong that a negligent act by someone can cause someone else to pay thousands of dollars just to be put them back where they started ,not to mention all the pain and other expense.