Knocked off on cycle path by dog – injured. What to do?

Has anyone had any experience of this? I’m not sure how to go about it all.

I was riding on a path that’s used for walking and cycling last night. It was dark, I had my lights on and a cyclist was was approaching me with lights on too. We pass each other and his dog, off a lead, runs from behind the bike and I plough into it. I never saw the dog until I hit it probably due to the brightness of his light,so I wasn’t expecting anything. I landed on my face and split my Hex open at the front. It’s fairly compressed too. I lay there dazed for 3-5 mins and didn’t say much. I groaned something to him about his dog which upset him and he seemed a bit aggressive. As he walked towards me I said that my chins burst open. He asked if I needed or wanted to go to hospital. The dog had ran off, it was reported missing and over an hour and a half later it was still missing. I hope it’s o.k.
He stayed for a few minutes and went off to look for the dog. I lay there with the bike for another few mins and another dog walker appeared. I told her the story and asked if she could try and take note of what he looked like as he seems quite aggressive,not someone that would want to give me his details. We walked back towards town and he was still looking for the dog. He came over and we asked if he had seen it, we talked a bit and he asked if I was going to hospital. I was still dazed and thinking that I’ve got a smashed helmet,chin,possible broken hand and thinking more along the lines of going to the police. So I told him this. He seemed peeved off and said ‘aye,well good luck with that’ and rode off again. I walked back to town with the woman and the kid/dogs, a bit worried about this guy. I reported it and decided to go back along the route to see if I could see the dog. The guy was there with a few other dog walkers. I asked if they found him, they hadn’t. They asked a few questions about me and whether I was going to hospital but they never got much sense out of me and I rode off.

So I don’t know where the dog went, it might have died as I rode into it’s side with force. I got checked out and my head seems fine, just still a bit groggy and dizzy. The checks never showed anything up so they were happy. My left hand had xrays, no signs of a break but they asked to take another xray so I had to go back. They couldn’t see any breaks but the xray is going to be looked at over the next few days by someone else to see if they can spot anything. They reckon it’s ligament damage – although it feels as useless as when I broke it many years ago. It’s now fairly swollen and bruised on the palm. My chin is a mess, Giro Hex smashed, my right hand is sore under the knuckles too. The light unit has been scratched, xt lever scuffed and I’m not sure what else yet.

The police say it’s a tricky one as the dog wasn’t vicious and the guy didn’t do anything on purpose kinda attitude, but I pointed out that regardless of him not meaning to do any harm, I am still in bits and out of pocket because of his dog out of control. I’ve done nothing wrong but have to possibly face the next week of not carrying out my job properly, not to mention the cost of the helmet and stuff. He agreed and said that he would have to ask someone else about the matter as it was a new one to him. He reckoned it would be a solicitor’s job to take on. The thing is, how much could all that cost when aside from my injuries, the parts are probably only £120ish.

I’m not with the BCF this year or any club. Has anyone ever had a similar experience?

Thanks!

Martin

https://www.gov.uk/control-dog-public/overview

Sounds like you weren’t looking where you were going and hit a dog on a pavement.

Sounds like you weren’t looking where you were going and hit a dog on a pavement.

10mins. That didn’t take long.

Someone at work was taken out by a dog on a shared use path (dog owner on otherside of path, dog in undergrowth owner called the dog across the path of the cyclist at the worst possible moment), broken arm/wrist and several days in intensive care, dog walker left him lying there and afaik wasn’t identified/caught.

the only good thing about threads like this is **** self outing themselves

I was riding on a path that’s used for walking and cycling last night.

To the OP – was this a designated bridleway, byway or a shared footpath/cyclepath?

That sounds awful Martin – glad there are no broken bones, and hopefully no lasting damage to you. As a dog owner and cyclist (and often both at the same time), and without knowing a) how busy/well-sighted/wide the path is b) speeds involved c) prevalence/appropriateness/legality of people riding with dogs on the path d) how erratically the dog was straying from it’s course I’d put this down to ‘shit happens’. Accidents do happen. But then I am quick to take an anti litigation stance, believing that common sense should prevail. Good old fashioned dialogue should see all parties come out of this with the appropriate recompense. But I also understand that this isn’t always possible.

Be interested to hear how this one unfolds – had a couple of close calls both with me nearly hitting other peoples’ dogs and other riders giving mine a fright.

Tough one to call, playing devils advocate it doesn’t sound like the dog was dangerously out of control to me (as classified in the link above), more like an unfortunate collision.

Could he have seemed aggressive through concern about his dog? You were up and walking, albeit a bit bruised and bloodied, but as far as he knew his dog might have been dying in a bush. Also consider that while you’re £120 down, if his dog is alive it could be costing him a small fortune in vets bills. He might see the incident very differently to you and feel just as aggrieved.

other riders giving mine a fright.

No offence but if the dog gets frightened by bike why are you taking it riding in a area where there will be bikes?

I suspect shit will happen if this is your attitude and I guess this is why we debate whether your dog is under control/dangerous and whether dog owners are responsible.

No offence but if the dog gets frightened by bike WTF are you doing taking it riding in a area where there will be bikes?
I suspect shit will happen if this is your attitude

It’s a turn of phrase. As is I hope your threatening tone.

ETA – @Junkyard, thanks for the edit 🙂 Will hasten to add, dog is not afraid of bikes, is very well-trained, and I haven’t got to mental stamina to take her to a trail centre full of STWers.

Sounds like you weren’t looking where you were going and hit a dog on a pavement.

eh? it didn’t sound like that at all

My mate got knocked off his bike by a dog and chipped his arm. The lady was insured and after much haggling he received 9k! To be honest the injury was no way worth that amount, he only initially actually claimed for the cost of his damaged bike and clothes but got the lawyers involved when they refused to even cover that.

Yeah, tough one that.

I’d personally put it down to ‘accidents happen’, you’re okay with no long term damage but that guy might well have lost his beloved dog. Maybe it should have been on a lead but we all like to let our dogs roam a little, it’s not nice to have them on a lead 24/7. Obviously the situation wasn’t helped by his attitude but that could have been panick rather than aggression.

Hope you’re healing up

I suspect, as above, it’s just a bad luck thing. The .gov link is irrelevant, the dog didn’t injure the OP, the dog was a contributing factor in an accident in which the OP was injured. There would be no way to prove the dog owner had any idea how the dog would react so you can’t prove liability there either.

I’ve ridden into my (38kg) dog a few times when he was younger, its like hitting a concrete block. Every time had me down on the floor for a while apart from the time when I landed in nettles. Dog was fine.

BJ – 9/10.

In law as I understand it, as a dog owner you are legally responsible for it. That is to say, if it ran out onto a road and caused an accident, you would potentially be liable for significant third party damages. Hence pet insurance includes normally 2-3 million pounds of third party liability. Equally if it was aggressive towards another dog or person you would be liable for their injuries (providing proof can be found).

Assuming the accident occurred on a path where both cyclists and walkers + dogs are allowed, I think the waters are rather muddied – who was to blame? You could easily (and probably rightly) claim that the dog was not properly under control, but (if it came to it and there was proof regarding the 2 parties involved), a counter claim might be made that you were cycling too fast and not properly in control. That’s not to say you were by the way.

On a related note I too go mountain biking with my dog sometimes. Not at night though!

really depressed me reading that. At least you reported it in good time, need that scuff on your shifter sorting asap!

i worry about this too as i’ve had to swerve a few times to avoid dogs in the dark that are barely visible due to glare from oncoming walkers torches. sometimes other cyclist’s headlights are so bright you have no idea whats in front of you and i’ve had to stop/shield my eyes! hope you get it sorted & the dog’s ok too!

Sounds to me as if the other bloke will be as upset about any injury to his dog as you are about the injury to yourself. If either of you were rich or patient enough to want to have a pop at the other in court, I bet the court would chuck you out or award you both identical damages against each other.

Sh*t happens, as others have written.

Does cycling insurance cover this? Pet insurance might if the owner is insured but it would probably be argued as 50:50.

In the dark the dog would have been better on a lead and ne the other side to the one he is passing people on. Illuminated collars are also a good idea.

From experience some people also seem to try and force you to move over even when you are trying to get them to pass on the other side to the dog though 👿

Also highlights another problem with stupidly bright lights with no dip when they are not needed/sensible.

the only good thing about threads like this is **** self outing themselves

Hopefully it will show people why they should have some form of insurance.

this is what you call ‘an accident’

If you have insurance then claim, but for £120 probably not worth it.

If you don’t have insurance then suck it up.

I’m not really sure what you expect the police to do about it.

In which case you have to accept responsibility when them being off the lead results in loss or injury to other people.

Which is irrelevant – as the owner you are responsible for a dog’s actions whether or not you knew what it was going to do.

To those suggesting “shit happens” – well only because the dog was there.

In order to get to court you would have to prove both parties involved – without witnesses let’s assume the other guy simply denied it, not sure how you would take that forward. But where liability comes in, assuming the path involved did not specify that dogs should be on leads, I’m still not sure how that would be viewed. The dog owner wasn’t breaking any rules and neither was the cyclist – so just an unfortunate accident?

I’m in the accidents happen camp.

Someone enjoying their hobby with their dog had an accident with you whilst you were enjoying the same hobby.

The dog doesnt sound aggressive, wasnt trying to bite or attack anyone, it just came out from behind its owner and collided with you…no intent or malice from anyone or anything involved….why this incessant need to apportion blame?

…and the whole “he seemed aggressive”…”i was worried by his attitude”….”he didnt seem like the type to give me his details”….thing is just depressing, is nobody allowed to be angry/pissed off/annoyed anymore?….his dog had just been hit and was now missing, understandable in my opinion…judging aggression is very subjective at the best of times, he came over and asked how you were a couple of times and waited with you before going to look for his dog…yep, sounds like a real monster there….how did you survive an encounter with such a psychopath?!

To those suggesting “shit happens” – well only because the dog was there.

Or only because the OP was there. Accidents do happen, you don’t have to find blame in everything. From the OP it sounds like it is a common place for people to walk their dogs as well as ride their bikes.

are you including the scratch to your light and the scuffed shifter in the £120 estimate? Cos a new Hex is £80 max and I bet they do crash replacement.

IMHO – The dog was out of control. If it had been on the lead the accident wouldn’t have happened. I would argue the dog was dangerously out of control and it caused an injury to you. Running loose on a cycle lane is the same as running loose in the road. Go back to the police.
They may decide to deal with it under traffic law however.

other riders giving mine a fright.

No offence but if the dog gets frightened by bike why are you taking it riding in a area where there will be bikes?

Very often the dog is surprised by bikes, particularly if the rider doesn’t have the courtesy to let people know they’re coming.
It’s not rocket science,just good manners.

Was chased by a dog myself yesterday. It was stupidly trying to bite my back tyre whilst I was going at full pelt trying to get away. Dread to think what would of happened if it had managed it. Probably dead dog and me flying off the bike.

An old biddy walked out in front of me a few years back.
I had to swerve to miss her and down I went.
I ripped my nice jacket and shorts. The break levers were scratched to bugger and I has blood oozing from various places.
The old biddy was very shaken.
Did I call the police on her and sue her ass?
No I did not. It was an accident and she just didn’t see me.
OP, Accept that. I’m very sorry for you but move on.
What if it was a fox or badger instead of the dog?
Nobody meant any harm or mallace – including the poor dog you hit.

Running loose on a cycle lane is the same as running loose in the road. Go back to the police.

OP said it’s a shared use path

It was an accident yes you were hurt but it was still an accident. Getting the police involved in my opinionis over the top

it just came out from behind its owner and collided with you…no intent or malice from anyone or anything involved….why this incessant need to apportion blame?

I may walk into the road with no malice and knock you into/cause you to swerve into an oncoming car
Why the incessant need to apportion blame DUDE?
Shit happens.

Aracer explains your dog is in public and off a lead you need to stop it causing accidents. I really dont understand why dog owners dont understand that when their dog does something stupid in public resulting in injury its their fault. What if it ran into the road and caused a car to swerve and hit a £3 k driveway post …is that shit happens ?

How does your dog want cyclists to let it know they’re coming? Does it not have the usual complement of visual receptors which most people use to determine that other objects are coming?

You should have had a full facer on and some body armour, you’d have been able to get straight back up then and bum **** out of the dog. That’d learn him!

Just because it was an ‘accident’ doesn’t mean there isn’t liability here. Whether its worth pursuing is another matter – only the OP can decide that as only he knows the circumstances and extent of his injuries. However what if he had been paralyzed from the waist down and needing thousands of pounds worth of care? I think most people would consider suing the dog owner in those circumstances. The fact is that whilst he could see the cyclist and avoid him, he couldn’t see and didn’t expect a dog to run into him and nobody reasonably would unless every cyclist on that path was accompanied by a dog. There is a clear case in a court of law but not a clear ‘winner’ as it might be proved the OP was cycling too fast or some other factor we don’t know about.

I agree about no need for the police, but the fact it was an accident (ie not on purpose) doesn’t mean there was no negligence. A dog causing an accident due to not being on a lead is negligent.

edit: cross-posted with winston – I also agree with him that whilst there is a liability on the dog owner here it may not be worth pursuing.

He stated that he couldn’t see due to bright lights yet still kept going (case for the defense)

Very often the dog is surprised by bikes, particularly if the rider doesn’t have the courtesy to let people know they’re coming.

Insert Troll or stupid pic here

We have to warn the dog ?
Ok i will hit every cyclist i see whilst on foot and remind them all that they failed to warn me so its their fault. 😕

How does your dog want cyclists to let it know they’re coming? Does it not have the usual complement of visual receptors which most people use to determine that other objects are coming?

POSTED 1 MINUTE AGO # REPORT-POST
No, it doesn’t. It’s not a person- it’s a dog, and as such has slightly worse eyesight than humans but hearing 1000 times more acute. Don’t grumble,give a whistle!