Thursday, October 3, 2013

Central Park cyclist can sue over dog-caused crash

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An aerial view of Central Park in Manhattan. Dog owners who take their pets to the park regularly should take heed of a decision Thursday by the Appellate Division in Manhattan that allowed a bicyclist to sue dog owners for negligence after their dog allegedly ran into one of the park’s thoroughfares and knocked the rider onto the pavement.




A German man who suffered a broken jaw when a dog darted in front of him and knocked him off his bicycle in Central Park can indeed sue the dog’s owners for negligence, an appellate court ruled Thursday.


In the decision, a victory for Wolfgang Doerr, 46, the Appellate Division in Manhattan reversed itself; earlier this year, it had dismissed his case.


The judges changed their minds following a new ruling by the state’s highest court that held an animal’s owner could be held accountable for the animal’s behavior even if that behavior is not demonstrated to be an example of a “vicious propensity” to misbehave on the animal’s part.


Doerr said he was riding on the park’s loop road near Seventh Avenue in 2009 when came upon Daniel Goldsmith, who was crouched near a dog named Lena, a 45-pound shepherd mix.


He said Goldsmith had his arm around the dog’s chest and neck. On the other side of the road, Goldsmith’s girlfriend, Julie Smith, was bending over, clapping her hands on her thighs, signaling for the dog to come to her, according to Doerr’s lawsuit.


Doerr screamed out “Watch Your Dog!” but the dog ran into the middle of the road and Doerr could not stop in time. The collision with Lena sent him flying off the bike, and the hard landing caused him to break his jaw and shatter multiple teeth.


bross@nydailynews.com





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