Turkish lecturer sues coffee shop for tripping over sleeping dog

In a first of its kind incident, a lecturer has sued the owners of a coffee shop, where he tripped over a dog sleeping at the entrance and broke his arm.

Mahmut Şenol, who is also a journalist, filed a lawsuit for compensation of 31,000 Turkish Liras ($1,700).

According to the petition submitted to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, Şenol’s arm was broken in three places as he tackled and fell down without noticing the dog.

Claiming that the dog was fed by the shop employees, Şenol’s lawyer said, “The dog, which should not have been in the shop, caused my client to fall.”

The lawyer pointed out that Şenol’s academic life has been disrupted due to three fractures, adding they demand 1,000 liras ($55) of material compensation and 30,000 liras ($1,645) of moral compensation from the defendant coffee company.

“Şenol could not attend courses at universities. He also could not pen articles. In addition, although Şenol was invited to various academic seminars, it was not possible for him to attend due to the fractures,” the lawyer explained.

The coffee company has asked for the dismissal of the case, claiming that the incident occurred at the time when the coffee shop was closed, and the dog was not fed by the coffee shop.

The coffee company also claimed that Şenol fell as a result of his own lack of attention.