You were walking past the neighbour’s driveway. Their dog came through the open gate and put its teeth into your calf. Emergency department: $0 thanks to Medicare, but then $180 for the GP follow-up, $95 for the antibiotics and dressings, $340 for the ripped jeans and shoes, and two days off work you didn’t get paid for. The neighbour said “sorry, he’s never done that before” and then stopped answering the door.
“Sorry” doesn’t cover your out-of-pocket costs. Their responsibility does.
Dog owners are strictly liable
Every state has a companion animals or dog control law that makes the owner responsible for injury their dog causes. In New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory it is what lawyers call strict liability. That means:
- You do not have to prove they were careless.
- You do not have to prove the dog had bitten before.
- You just have to show it was their dog and it injured you.
The only real defences are if you were trespassing on their property, or you provoked the dog. Walking on the footpath is neither.
What you can claim
- Medical costs not covered by Medicare (GP gap, medication, dressings, physio).
- Damaged clothing, shoes, glasses, phone.
- Lost wages for time off work.
- Travel to medical appointments.
- For serious injuries, pain and suffering, though that usually needs a bigger claim.
Add it up. Keep every receipt. A $700 to $1,500 claim is very normal for a “minor” bite.
Ready to put it in writing?
Answer 3 quick questions to check you have the details your document needs, and see your next step.
1. Who owes you?
2. How much?
3. Do you have it in writing?
Your result is ready. Where should we send it?
Report it to council
Do this straight away. Council will record the incident and may declare the dog dangerous or issue fines. It also creates an official record that the bite happened, which is gold at the tribunal.
Their home insurance probably covers it
Most home and contents policies include liability cover for exactly this. The neighbour doesn’t want to tell you that because they don’t want their premium to go up. Your Letter of Demand will remind them the option exists.
The letter
A Letter of Demand to the dog owner sets out the incident, the date, the council report number, an itemised list of your losses with receipts, the strict liability section of your state’s dog law, and a 14-day deadline before you file at the tribunal or local court.
Neighbours settle these because the alternative is a hearing where they explain why their unrestrained dog attacked someone on a public footpath. Nobody wants to be that person in front of a tribunal member.
You don’t have to carry the cost of someone else’s badly-managed pet. Don’t.
Claim Done drafts your Letter of Demand for $49. Done in about 5 minutes. You approve it before it is sent.
What happens when you send a Letter of Demand
Same problem. What a prepared case looks like.