If my cat bit our neighbor’s toddler after provocation, can she sue us?
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If my cat bit our neighbor’s toddler after provocation, can she sue us?
My neighbor visited our home for a play date with her new born baby and her toddler approximately 2 years old. My wife and my 2 1/2 year old daughter were present, as well as another neighbor who had her 2 year old son. While my wife was away in the kitchen, the first little girl started poking our cat with a cat toy similar to a stick. According to the other neighbor, this little girl’s mom just told her that,
Asked on August 11, 2018 under Personal Injury, Connecticut
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
1) When someone can be shown to have provoked an animal, they cannot recover compensation for any resulting injuries. (While the child was a toddler, and so is not expected to act as anything other than a toddler, her mother was there and could have separated them; the mother's negligent failure to act should eliminate liability but putting the fault on her family).
2) You can only sue for actual medical costs injured and, for long-lasting injuries causing significant life impairment, some amount for "pain and suffering." Based on what you write, there does not appear to anything they could get compensation for in this situation.
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