James McNally, a lawyer nicknamed the ‘dog-bite solicitor’ by the national press, has been interviewed for an article appearing in the Daily Mirror.
James has hit the national headlines again after calling upon the Government to take action following a massive spike in the number of people being bitten by a dog; some so badly that, in James’ words, they look like “special effects from a zombie film”.
James and his team receive up to 30 new enquiries each week from dog bite victims, and have around 300 legal claims that are actively being pursued at any one time.
He therefore believes that the time has come for action to be taken at the highest levels to make pet insurance compulsory for dog owners.
The newspaper reports that there has been a threefold increase in dog bites requiring hospital treatment since Covid-19 struck the country. There are a number of reasons for this according to James. First, we have seen the rise of the ‘lockdown puppy’. This has not just resulted in more people getting dogs, but many have done so without thinking it through and taking care to get the right dog for their lifestyle. Second, people were getting more home deliveries during lockdown, and unfortunately dogs and delivery drivers are not a good combination.
Several of James’ clients are featured in the article. One, a pensioner, lost her lower jaw during lockdown when she was attacked by her neighbour’s Staffie. Another lost part of her nose when she bent over her friend’s Collie to say goodnight.
James made it clear to the Daily Mirror that this isn’t just a problem with so-called dangerous dogs. All dogs are capable of injuring people. “The simple fact,” he says, “is that any dog can bite, and any dog can cause a serious injuries.“
For this reason James is not in favour of banning certain breeds, as it creates the mistaken belief that dogs not on a banned list are safe.
