Interesting issue: Can a person receive compensation when attacked by stray dogs? Who is responsible for those dogs anyway?
Answers to these questions were given in a ruling issued by the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court (Tel Aviv 168902-09).
The plaintiff, a man from the community who went to work in the city of Elad, was suddenly attacked by a pack of stray dogs. He tried to run for his life, fell on a wave of stones and was injured in every part of his body.
The man sued the National Insurance Institute, which filed a lawsuit against the municipality in whose jurisdiction the accident occurred, claiming that the municipality was responsible for the incident, for failing to fulfill its duty under the law by allowing them to roam freely in a public area under its responsibility, despite knowing about the phenomenon of stray dogs. It also failed to take action to prevent such incidents.
The starting point, the plaintiff argued, is that the municipality as an authority has liability in tort for negligence as any other tort as derived from the principle of equality, even if the act in question was done with lawful authority or in good faith.
The plaintiff further argued that there is no dispute in fact that a municipality owes a duty of care to its residents, including the obligation to take precautions to prevent the danger posed by dogs that roam public property, which can pose a risk to the public based on health considerations, such as preventing rabies and other animal diseases, or safety considerations. The municipality also allegedly has the authority to act regarding stray dogs on its territory.
The court ruled that the existence of an obstacle in the form of a pack of dogs that attacks a person while walking on the street and forces him to flee for his life constitutes prima facie evidence of the lack of adequate arrangements on the part of the municipality to prevent a dog nuisance in the area, and is capable of shifting to the municipality the burden of providing evidence regarding the nature and frequency of actions taken to eradicate this nuisance.
The municipality did not bring to the hearing testimony from the city's dog catcher who acted on its behalf, nor did it attach a report of complaints from residents about stray dogs - which showed that the town did not do enough to eradicate the phenomenon of stray dogs.
Therefore, the court ordered the city to pay compensation to the plaintiff.
In light of this, if you are injured in an accident, even if it sometimes seems like no one is responsible for it, it is best to try to contact a lawyer who will contact the appropriate party on your behalf to receive compensation.
• The author of the article - lawyer Shira Finkelstein, specializes in handling personal injury claims and owner of the website 'Accident': www.teuna.org.
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