Miscarriage Caused by Off-Leash Dog... Court Orders Owner to Pay 17 Million Won Compensation

Miscarriage After Being Startled by a Dog Charging at Four Months Pregnant
Owner Claimed "Retriever Is Docile" but Ordered to Pay Compensation

A court in China has ruled that a dog owner must compensate a woman who suffered a miscarriage after being startled by someone else's pet dog, ordering payment of about 90,000 yuan (approximately 16.78 million KRW).

On the 18th (local time), local media including the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported the story of Yan (41), who had a miscarriage earlier this year. At the time, Yan was returning home when a Golden Retriever suddenly rushed out of a building and charged at her. Yan, who was four months pregnant, was startled by the dog and stepped back, sensing something was wrong with her body at that moment. She immediately went to the hospital, where doctors diagnosed that "the fetal heartbeat could not be detected." She said, "I went to the hospital because of abdominal pain, but I could not save my baby. I am very sad." Yan had succeeded in becoming pregnant after undergoing several rounds of in vitro fertilization over the past three years.

Golden Retriever [Image source=Pixabay]

The incident sparked significant controversy online. On China's social networking service (SNS) Weibo, it recorded as many as 110 million views.

Subsequently, Yan filed a lawsuit against the dog owner, Li. According to Chinese animal-related laws, pet owners must leash their dogs in public places, and violating this can result in a fine of up to 200 yuan (about 30,000 KRW). Li admitted that his dog was not leashed at the time but argued, "The Golden Retriever is a gentle breed trained to assist visually impaired people," adding, "She should have been more careful if she was pregnant."

However, the court ruled that Li must pay 90,000 yuan in compensation. The court stated, "There is nothing wrong with a pregnant woman walking near her home," and ruled that "because the dog was not leashed, Yan was startled and stepped back, which caused the miscarriage."

Recently in China, a controversy arose when a man killed a dog by throwing it to the ground after the unleashed dog approached his granddaughter. At the time, the dog owner expressed frustration, saying, "The dog just wanted to play with the child," but legal experts predicted, "The man who killed the dog is very unlikely to be punished."