$550,000 Dog Bite Settlement for Pasco County Resident attacked by Pit Bull
Our client was walking his dog near his home in New Port Richey, located in Pasco County, Florida, when a pit bull ran out of a neighbor’s house and attacked our client’s dog.
Our client attempted to pull his dog away, at which time he lost his balance and fell, striking his head on the pavement. He was knocked unconscious.
Fire rescue came to the scene and took our client to the emergency room. He was diagnosed with a skull fracture, with right and left frontal lobe damage, which resulted in a loss of hearing, loss of smell, loss of taste, vertigo, depression, and short-term memory loss.
The symptoms persisted after a substantial treatment period, and he is now required to wear hearing aids.
The owner of the dog was visiting the neighbor’s house from Wyoming. Our client hired the Dog Bite Attorneys at Dell & Schaefer to attempt to recover damages from the dog owner.
After taking depositions and completing other discovery, the Personal Injury Attorneys Dell & Schaefer were able to determine that there was homeowner’s insurance coverage which covered the acts of the dog and subsequent injuries sustained.
The insurance company for the dog owner contested that the pit bull was responsible for the injuries, but ultimately, at mediation, the case was settled for $550,000 in compensatory damages to our client.
2 comments
My husband was attacked by a pit-bull yesterday. My husband was outside the fenced area. The dog jumped on top of the gate and jumped at my husband. He was going for the jugular and missed it by 14 of an inch. Had he been a smaller man the dog would have killed him. He has lacerations on his face, neck, inside his mouth and hand. He was able to push the dog back over the fence and run for his truck. There was no one home. He drove himself to the hospital while trying to stop the bleeding. He spoke to an attorney today who told him he had no case. The insurances don’t cover pit-bulls. The owner has nothing of value (he rents his home) and the owner of the land and house did not own the dog and his insurance wouldn’t cover it anyway. Is this true? Is there anything that can be done?
Janet,
The owner of the dog is usually liable, but in some cases you can go after a landowner also if they knew a dangerous dog was on the property. You should call us at 800-828-7583 to see if we can help you.