Woman hospitalised with serious injuries following attack

Monika Bresler was out walking her dog near Gleniffer Braes in Paisley when a Highland cow charged towards them, knocking her off her feet before stomping on her chest. Bresler managed to get to her feet and run to hide in bushes and said she “feared for her life” during the frightening ordeal.

Bresler was rushed to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital with a collapsed lung and multiple fractures, she added that she had heard her ribs “cracking” during the attack. She was kept in the hospital 4 days before being discharged on Saturday, April 20.

Now, the IT manager has been forced to take six weeks off work to recover. Telling Glasgow Live about her ordeal she explained that the cow “had a small calf and immediately after spotting my dog, started charging at us with anger in its eyes. While my dog, luckily off the lead at that point, managed to run away quickly, I thought I’d be okay moving away from it too – I went off the path into the neighbouring gorge bushes, and ran fast. The cow didn’t stop charging, followed me and knocked me off my feet. It then attempted to lay on me, repeatedly, trying to crush me into the ground. The cow then managed to stamp on my chest with one of its hoofs.”

We asked Susanne, Head of Personal Injury at Watermans, about Bresler’s case and where she stands regarding possible compensation.

“Animals by their nature are unpredictable and people should be careful when walking in areas with wild animals especially where they have their young with them. Therefore, there is legislation in place namely The Animals Scotland Act 1987 which places an obligation on the owners of the animals to keep them under control. Depending on the circumstances there may be a possibility of a claim against the owner of the cow for the injuries sustained by Monika.”