Case Results – Animal Attacks & Dog Bites
Personal Injury Case Results – Animal Attacks and Dog Bites
Dog Bite – Significant tissue loss and scarring to lips and nose; emotional distress; $550,000.00
The plaintiff, a 23 year-old woman, was invited to the defendant’s home, along with two other female friends, to bid a final farewell to the defendant’s dog who was scheduled to be euthanized the following day. Unbeknownst to the plaintiff, the basis for the euthanization of the dog was an attack on the defendant just one week earlier.
Trial report for this dog bite injury case
Dog Bite – Partial Amputation of Nose, Scarring of Forehead; $255,000.00
On June 16th, 2006, the plaintiff was a lawful visitor at the defendants’ home. The defendants were the owners of an American Bulldog named “Buster”. The plaintiff, a neighbor of the defendant, was familiar with Buster. As the dog approached the plaintiff, the plaintiff knelt-down and the dog suddenly bit at the plaintiff’s face, severing a portion of the plaintiff’s left nostril and upper lip. There was no evidence of teasing or tormenting which would otherwise have served as a defense to the plaintiffs’ statutory claims.
Trial report for this dog bite injury case
Dog Bite – Partial Amputation of Nose; $220,000
The plaintiff, a Massachusetts licensed neuro-psychiatrist, and her husband, arrived at the home of the plaintiff’s sister to meet the defendants’ newly adopted dog, a Dalmatian. The plaintiff entered her sister’s home and greeted the dog. When the plaintiff bent down to hand the dog a play toy, the dog suddenly and without warning, lunged toward the plaintiff’s face, biting-off a portion of the plaintiff’s nose. Following the initial surgery which resulted in the re-attachment of the severed tissue to the plaintiff’s nose, the plaintiff underwent a number of painful scar revision surgeries designed to improve the visual appearance of her nose. The dog bite incident, including the disfigurement occasioned by the loss of considerable tissue, left the plaintiff depressed and distant from her husband.
Trial report for this dog bite injury case
Dog Bite – Significant tissue loss and scarring to upper lip; emotional distress; $175,000.00
On February 11, 2010, the plaintiff traveled to the defendants’ home to see a dog she was considering adopting. The defendants were the dog’s “foster family”, set-up through a animal rescue network. The plaintiff was greeted at the door by the defendants and also by the adoptive dog. An experienced dog owner, the plaintiff began interacting with the dog, and the defendant suggested she help give him his weekly bath. The plaintiff agreed and followed the defendant’s instructions while bathing him. As the plaintiff was drying the dog with a towel, the dog began to growl and unexpectedly lunged forward, and began biting the plaintiff’s face. The plaintiff immediately covered her mouth with her hand and realized that she was bleeding profusely. The plaintiff ran to a mirror to find that her nose had been bitten and a large section of her upper lip was completely missing. The defendant immediately drove the plaintiff to the emergency room. On the way to the hospital, the plaintiff learned that the defendant had himself been bitten by the same dog just a few weeks earlier, which required emergency treatment.
Trial report for this dog bite injury case
Dog Bite – Fractured Thumb; $100,000.00
The plaintiff, a 48 year-old woman, was walking with her 12-year-old son and her unleashed Labrador Retriever along a residential street near her home in Gloucester, Massachusetts. As the plaintiffs proceeded down the street they observed a second couple, walking an unleashed “Pit Bull”, in their direction. As the parties approached one another, the two dogs began circling each other. Fearing that the Pit Bull would attack the Labrador, the plaintiff reached between the two dogs in an attempt to protect her dog, which had recently undergone abdominal surgery. At that point, the Pit Bull locked his jaw around the plaintiffs left (non-dominant) hand, with tremendous force. In an effort to extract her hand from the dog’s mouth, the plaintiff lifted her hand into the air only to find the defendant’s dog still attached. After she had successfully separated herself from the defendant’s dog, the plaintiff removed her winter glove to find her thumb badly lacerated. She was transported to the hospital where she was diagnosed with a displaced fracture of her left thumb. At the time of the incident, the plaintiff was employed as an administrative secretary, was unable to perform her occupational duties for several months.
Trial report for this dog bite injury case
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Eric J. Parker is a co-founder of Parker Scheer LLP and serves as the firm's Managing Partner. With over 23 years of experience in complex personal injury trials, Mr. Parker represents adults and children injured or killed as a result of negligence.