Dog bite golfer awarded £5,000

A court awarded a professional British golfer nearly 5,000 pounds ($7,900) in damages on Friday after a dog bit his little finger.

But he was denied the millions of pounds he had claimed because a judge at the High Court ruled the bite could not be blamed for ending his hopes of becoming a top class professional.

Andrew Raitt, 32, was bitten by an Alsatian on a golf course in June 1995. The judge was told the bite half severed the tip of Raitt's left-hand little finger.

Raitt said the bite ruined his career but judge Ian Kennedy thought differently.

"I have no evidence which would lead me to believe that his career would have followed a different path to that which it has," he said.

Raitt, who had turned down a pre-trial settlement offer of 8,000 pounds, was ordered to pay heavy legal costs.

Email this page to a friend | Return to top of page