$400,000.00 Settlement for a Trip-and-Fall Injury Caused by a Dog

Personal Injury

Our 28-year-old client was walking to her condo when she encountered a 90-pound German Sheppard. The dog was barking and lunging aggressively toward our client. Even though the dog was leashed, he was dragging the much smaller owner along with it. Our client began quickly moving backward as the dog continued to advance toward her. As our client backed up, she rolled her right ankle off the curb and fell to the ground.

The dog owner told animal control our client was trying to pet her dog and then simply fell. After our client fell, the owner was able to get control of the dog. She then turned and left our client on the ground without offering any assistance. The dog owner’s insurance company denied liability and advised they would not offer any settlement to our client.

As a result of the fall, our client sustained a fractured right ankle as well as torn ligaments. She underwent a surgical repair of her ankle and 6 months of rehabilitation. Our client that the week prior to this incident, the same dog had been able to break free from the owner and charge our client and our client’s dog. Our client was able to separate the dogs before any injury occurred, but she knew this dog was a serious threat.

Our investigation revealed this dog’s history of extremely aggressive behavior towards people and other dogs. We obtained statements from residents who witnessed the owner being pulled to the ground by the dog as it charged after people and their pets.

We provided the results of our investigation and our client’s medical bills and records. We demanded the insurance carrier pay our client the policy’s limits. Within 3 weeks, the insurance company agreed to pay the policy limits of $300,000 and an additional $100,000 for coverage related to the dog itself.