Can I be sued if someone has already accepted money?

[Julia90]

As short as possible -
a friend stood on my dog in my house - my
dog grabbed her leg but not deeply and let go, was obviously scared.

friend refused to go to hospital as it didn’t look bad

bite got infected ans resulted in a operation to clean

i paid her £2000 via bank transfers because I felt sorry for her having to stay off work for op

I then hear she wants to claim through insurance she tells me
she will give me my money back

i haven’t received that money back - my insurance refused to pay out as she accepted money

i am now receiving threatening letters from a solicitor

thankyou
julia

[Amethyst]

Did you discuss the money with her before you gave it to her ?

What are the solicitors threatening ? ( presumably she's engaged some no win no fee personal injury firm )

[Julia90]

Hi, thank you, I said to her that I will send her money and she was happy to accept it ( I paid multiple payments daily )

and then when she realised she could get more she said she will send the money back but she didn’t send it back

and then the insurance refused to pay because she had accepted the money

[Julia90]

They’re asking questions about my
Home insurance company / my dogs information for them to do temperament tests / asking me who I’ve spoken to about it etc.

[Amethyst]

She STOOD on your dog... I'd bite her if she stood on me

I'm going to tag des8 as I think this is more his area of knowledge …. it might help if you can do a pic of the letter, cover over your personal details first, and post on here pls. xxx If you use your phone then take the pic, then do a screenshot of the pic and edit that to cross out your personal info, then it should be the right size file to upload xxx

Also the final resolution letter from your insurers may assist - as they have deemed the case settled due to the £2k you paid her already I think ?

[des8]

What a nightmare for you, and not helped by the Dangerous Dogs Act.
Fine, dogs should not bite but if people are careless and inadvertently harm a dog they are to an extent responsible for any reaction.
Anyway that's my rant over!

You obviously have liability coverage.
All you need to do is tell the solicitor that you have passed their letter to your insurers XYZ co.
Then send the letter to your insurers.
It is up to your insurers to deal with this directly.
You do not speak or answer the third party or their solicitors unless instructed by your insurers, other than to acknowledge receipt of communications and confirm you have passed them to your insurers.

Even if your insurers have said they ain't paying out, they still have a contractual duty to deal with this matter

[victorross]

Yes, he is absolutely right, you should let your insurer deal with them as you don't have another option. Or consulting a lawyer to whom you know can solve the situation.