In a case involving injury to a 7 year-old who was kicked in the back by a horse, the Illinois Appellate Court decided the question of whether contributory fault was a valid defense to the lawsuit.
The plaintiff brought this personal injury case seeking compensation under the Illinois Animal Control Act which provides:
If a dog or other animal, without provocation, attacks, attempts to attack or injures a person who is peaceably conducting himself or herself in any place where he or she may lawfully be, the owner of such dog or other animal is liable in civil damages to such person for the full amount of the injury proximately caused thereby. 510 ILCS 5/16.
In this case, the trial judge allowed the defense of contributory negligence. But the court looked to the case of Johnson v. Johnson, 2008 WL 4830822 (1st Dist., Nov. 5) to reverse the trial court’s judgment. Johnson found that “A plaintiff’s contributory fault is only relevant to the extent that it relates to the element of provocation. It is not a defense in and of itself.”
The Animal Control Act is a derogation of common-law and is not a strict liability statute. Therefore it does not impose strict liability on animal owners whose animal inflicts injuries upon others.