Shocking injuries of postman savagely bitten by German Shepherd while delivering mail as judge awards him £90,000 compensation
The court ordered massive damages after the owner admitted liability for the incident in 2014
A POSTMAN has been awarded £86,000 (€100,000) by the high court in Dublin after being bitten by a dog as he carried out his rounds.
James McCreary suffered horrific gashes on his leg after being "savagely attacked" by a German Shepherd that knocked him to the ground and left him screaming for his life as he delivered post in North County Dublin.
Dublin's High Court heard that the postie was saved by a quick thinking young man who pulled the dog off him.
It was said that on a previous occasion the dog had been inside the gate of its home, frothing at the mouth and barking at Mr McCreary as he tried to deliver mail to the outside post box.
The incident was mentioned to the owner.
McCreary, 53, sued the dog owner Sheelagh Morris over the incident as he delivered post on October 31, 2014, reports .
He claimed there was a failure to ensure a person visiting the premises was not attacked by the dog and a failure to adequately or at all deal with previous concerns the worker had with regard to the dog.
Related stories
The court was told the owner had already admitted liability and the court proceedings were only to decide the level of damages to be paid.
The court heard that McCreary thought he was going to be killed in the ferocious attack and was left in excruciating pain afterwards with three lacerations to his right leg which later became infected.
The postman was out of work for three and a half months as a result and also suffered post traumatic stress as a result.
On the day of the incident, the court heard that the gate of the home was open as the postman pulled up in his van.
As he went to retrieve the letters from the back the dog charged at him latching on to his leg.
McCreary told the hearing: "I was screaming help , help, help. I thought this was it. I was kicking at the dog. I hit him on the snout but I was not going to get away from this dog. I thought it might have lasted three minutes but it was probably 30 seconds."
He said the son of the dog owner dragged the dog off him he pulled himself on his knees to his post van.
"I was a wreck. It scared the life out of me. It is a cliche to say a dog attacks a postman but this was no joke." he added.
The dog was put down after the attack.
Making a total award of €103,300, to include special damages of €3,300 Mr Justice Kevin Cross said McCreary was a most pleasant and honest witness who is left with the scars and the memory of what occurred.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368