Overview

• Karla Haines is pursuing a High Court claim for more than £200,000 over a 2021 mauling by an American bulldog cross at Dogs Trust’s Harefield centre.
• Her legal team raised the claim valuation from an initial £60,000 to over £200,000 at a pre-trial hearing in late June.
• Dogs Trust’s insurers acknowledged breaching their duty of care by failing to restrain the dog named Jester but have not admitted causation or the full severity of her injuries.
• Court filings detail that Haines sustained multiple lacerations, puncture wounds, permanent scarring, lasting nerve damage and PTSD-like psychological harm.
• A trial is now set to hear evidence on causation and quantify damages unless the parties reach a settlement.