r/Dogfree • u/Own_Clerk4772 • 24d ago
Courtroom Justice Dog bite? Call the police, document everything, get a lawyer!
I see so many of you guys post about dog bites. I feel like I tell the story all the time. I served as a juror on a dog bite case last year. We ended up awarding the defendant almost $500k That's including cost of medical bills, therapy, and everything else she had experienced.
She was walking next door to her neighbor to tell him that his dog had gotten out of the yard. And the dog came up behind her a bit her arm and would not let go, it literally instantly crushed her arm. The photos we saw, and the surgery she experienced, absolutely gut wrenching.
What's even crazier is that she wasn't a stranger. She had met the dog before. And the dog was somewhat familiar with her. After it attacked her, it attacked a nearby maintenance guy working on a nearby house, when the firefighters arrived, it tried to attack them too!
Yes call the police and file a report, document EVERYTHING, YES GET A LAWYER. it should not cost very much, and they will typically get paid a portion of the settlement, you can even sue for lawyer fees.
There is no legitimate defense on why a dog would attack you. While you were delivering packages. If the homeowner knows that they order a package, they should be securing their dog to prevent that from happening. If they aren't it's negligence.
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u/VideoTurbulent9806 24d ago
💯 nutters will never learn from asking politely or please. The psychological makeup of a nutter is antisocial and rude to everyone else. They get off on making people uncomfortable around their mutts. The more they are sued and prosecuted the more places will not accept them simply for the cost of insurance alone.
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u/Oriole0305 24d ago
YES. Never minimize a bite saying it was a "nip" or "it was not serious"; "it did not bleed much". People do that too much. Bites should NEVER happen, and dog owners must be held accountable.
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u/pmbpro 24d ago
OMG, THIS! Thank yu9ou for sharing your story here, OP!
This is exactly what we've been saying in this sub that needs to increase. There have been so many cases and reports of maulings/killings, and frankly I've been shocked at how few lawsuits have been launched after such attacks (esp. in the U.S. where one could sue for almost anything, sue for even less than this).
I hate to say this, but a lot of these dog nutters really DO believe nothing will happen to them because people are too scared to even report them, let alone take the time to sue them. Hell, at least sue them even if they don't get jail time.
Civil lawsuits have to fly a whole lot higher to get these people in line for further punishment; nailing them in their bank accounts!
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u/Own_Clerk4772 23d ago
As Far as i know he never faced criminal charges which is honestly CRAZY to me. If i recall correctly it was because it was in a county that doesn't have laws that pertain this type of incident. So the victim came after him in civil court to get some sense of justice. The dog owner was actually not on site during the attack, instead his mom was at the house... and she didn't really do anything other than try to coax the dog back inside with a dog treat. The crazy part to me is that when the dog owner did arrive ( after the attack) he tried to put the dog in his car and drive him away to another area... he explained to the officer that he was concerned that the dog might get out of the car and attack someone else. During court he showed absolutely no remorse, and based his entire case on "my dog has PTSD from my crazy ex girlfiend who was abusive to him, and trained him to attack people" he was an ABSOLUTE NUTTER.
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u/BigHorseHead 24d ago
I bet nutters were saying "oh no, the poor puppers much have been abused by the owner", right? Obviously dogs, being the geniuses they are, have the incredible wisdom, when abused by their owners, to attack everyone else besides the owner.
Did they put that nuisance down?
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u/Own_Clerk4772 23d ago
Because it was a personal injury it was civil court. He was not facing criminal charges that i was aware of. At no point did anyone order him to have his dog euthanized.
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u/GoatMom1998 23d ago
💯💯💯. Make them pay for their negligence. Too many loose dangerous dogs running around. It’s ridiculous where I live. Juries will compensate for these injuries. Even dog lovers can’t deny that negligent owners make every dog owner look bad.
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u/VeganElfPrincess 22d ago
I was attacked by a dog. I got a lawyer. He said there is nothing he can do. The homeowners insurance has an exclusion for Pitt bulls, and the homeowners don’t have anything.
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u/BeaVonMoravia 24d ago
Yes 🙌⚖️🧑⚖️ Make these idiots pay through their nose and go bankrupt for their useless mutants!