Somerset lawyer, James McNally, known to some simply as the dog bite solicitor, is back in the news
Devon Live is reporting a news story featuring a case that is being handled by Somerset lawyer, James McNally.
James is a partner in Slee Blackwell Solicitors. He is based at the firm’s Taunton office. The practice has four other offices in Devon.
The case attracting nation publicity involves a four-year-old girl who was bitten on the face in her local park by a terrier.
Her parents asked the dog’s owner if it was safe for her to touch his dog and were assured that it was, “fine” to do so. But as she bent down to pet the dog it suddenly bit her face.
The girl’s mother is now worried that her daughter will be scarred for life. She is incensed that the police have been powerless to seize the dog because it isn’t a banned breed, and have only issued its owner with a caution.
She has demanded a change in the law and a crackdown on dogs that attack – irrespective of the breed. “The dog has done the same thing as a banned breed,” she told the press, “so I can’t see the difference.”
“Whether a pit bull did it or a terrier did it – they’d have both bitten a kid. The dog really has got away with it. If they bite a kid or bite a person, something should be done. It’s not good enough.”
“That dog could hurt someone one day and they won’t be as lucky as my daughter was. It shouldn’t be that way. At the end of the day, it’s a dangerous dog”. A month on from the attack Daisy wakes up every night crying from the trauma of the incident and her parents are exploring legal options.
James is reported in the article as saying:
“The exasperating thing is that this is an injury that could so easily have been prevented had the dog been muzzled or kept away from small children. All dog owners need to understand that their dog can cause injuries. These dogs are causing nasty injuries, but people don’t believe that their dog, their ‘family member’, could be responsible.”