Deaf dog caused car accident

[Shellycat6]

If a dog runs out into the road and an oncoming car slams his brakes to keep from hitting him, causing the car behind him to rearend him, who is at fault for the accident? The owner of the dog has a fenced in yard, is on vacation for a week and doesn't know anything about the incident until the insurance company of the vehicles involved, contacts them a week later. Is the owner of the dog liable or the driver of the vehicle that rearended the vehicle that slammed on the brakes to avoid hitting the deaf puppy? Or is the driver of the vehicle that slammed on his brakes to avoid hitting the deaf puppy?

 

[HomeGuru]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face=" Arial, Verdana, Helvetica">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Shellycat6:
If a dog runs out into the road and an oncoming car slams his brakes to keep from hitting him, causing the car behind him to rearend him, who is at fault for the accident? The owner of the dog has a fenced in yard, is on vacation for a week and doesn't know anything about the incident until the insurance company of the vehicles involved, contacts them a week later. Is the owner of the dog liable or the driver of the vehicle that rearended the vehicle that slammed on the brakes to avoid hitting the deaf puppy? Or is the driver of the vehicle that slammed on his brakes to avoid hitting the deaf puppy? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

In a rear end collision, the driver of the vehicle that hit the vehicle in front is liable. If the driver of the vehicle that hit the front vehicle was following the legal speed limit and driving the proper car length distance away, the accident could have been prevented.
The puppy is not liable since it is a minor under the legal age of 1 dog year times 7. Even if it were an adult, it would be protected under the CDA Canines with Disabilities Act.

[This message has been edited by HomeGuru (edited August 07, 2000).]