Stray Dog-Attacked Woman Wins Case against Bulgarian Capital

Stray dogs are one of the biggest problems of the Sofia Municipality. Photo by BGNES

A woman who was attacked by stray dogs in the Bulgarian capital Sofia won her suit against the local authorities at the Sofia Administrative Court.

On December 17,2009, the woman was attacked by stray dogs at the district of "Zaharna Fabrika". She was severely bitten on the right leg and had to undergo a surgery for transplantation of skin from her other leg.

On Wednesday, the Sofia Administrative Court mandated that the Sofia Municipality has to pay her a BGN 4,000 indemnity.

In October 2010, another woman who was attacked by stray dogs won her suit against the Sofia municipality and was paid a BGN 5,000 indemnity.

After this first lost case, the legal department at the Sofia Municipality continues to use the same tactics, stating that the Sofia mayor Yordanka Fandakova is not responsible for the stray dogs in the city because she had delegated this activity to the municipal company "Ekorazvnovesie".

However, the court ruling stated that the Sofia Municipality has not taken enough effective measures to ensure the capturing and isolation of stray dogs and has allowed their overpopulation.

On Wednesday, the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee reported that the European Court of Human Rights has ruled that the government is responsible for the protection of its citizens in cases of attacks by stray dogs.

There have been countless attacks on people by stray dogs in Bulgaria. Fandakova has stated that this is one of the biggest problems of the Sofia Municipality.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!