A pizza delivery man, who sustained a finger injury when delivering advertising leaflets, has been awarded €7,000 in dog bite through letterbox compensation after successfully appealing his case to the High Court.
The delivery man (23) made his claim for a dog bite through letterbox after being bitten by an Alsatian-type dog owned by Vincent and Bernie Fitzgerald of Portobello, Dublin, in October 2009. He required hospital treatment for his finger injury and a tetanus injection, after which he consulted a solicitor in respect of claiming dog bite through letterbox compensation for his injuries.
The Fitzgerald´s denied the Claimant´s dog bite through letterbox claim and, when the case was originally heard before Mr Justice Matthew Deery in the Circuit Civil Court in February 2012, Mr Justice Deery determined that the Claimant had no legal right to put his hand through the letterbox. Mr Justice Deery also dismissed a claim by the Claimant against his employers – Apache Pizzas.
However, at the High Court in Dublin, Ms Justice Iseult O’Malley allowed the appeal on the grounds that the flap at the back of the letterbox did not extend the full depth of the aperture and stated “It seems to me entirely possible the dog in fact got its nose under the flap and managed to bite his hand.” She found that there was no further need to prove that the Fitzgerald´s had been negligent.
The judge awarded the Claimant €7,000 in dog bite through letterbox compensation plus costs for his two court cases.