Dog Bite and then Harassment

[godwit]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Minnesota

Less than a week ago my eleven year old brother was walking through the back yard when their downstairs neighbor's "service dog" attacked him and bit him on his lower back. I say service dog in quotes because that is what they claimed it was when they moved in to the apartment with a no-dog policy. When the paramedics were called to check my brother out they were accompanied by the police and animal control who quarantined it for ten days. The landlord notified the family that they can no longer keep the dog on the property. You'd think that would take care of the problem, but nope. Now, my family is being harassed. The neighbor's children are pulling up their plants, banging on their door at night, and just generally making it a stressful place for them to live. I know Minnesota has very favorable dog bite laws to victims, could the dog owner's harassment and resulting emotional damage of my brother after the fact, in addition to the service dog lie, be included in a case against the neighbor?

 

[Ohiogal]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Minnesota

Less than a week ago my eleven year old brother was walking through the back yard when their downstairs neighbor's "service dog" attacked him and bit him on his lower back. I say service dog in quotes because that is what they claimed it was when they moved in to the apartment with a no-dog policy. When the paramedics were called to check my brother out they were accompanied by the police and animal control who quarantined it for ten days. The landlord notified the family that they can no longer keep the dog on the property. You'd think that would take care of the problem, but nope. Now, my family is being harassed. The neighbor's children are pulling up their plants, banging on their door at night, and just generally making it a stressful place for them to live. I know Minnesota has very favorable dog bite laws to victims, could the dog owner's harassment and resulting emotional damage of my brother after the fact, in addition to the service dog lie, be included in a case against the neighbor?

What emotional damage? What evidence do you have of said emotional damage? What was your brother doing to the dog? Were you there? Has your family seen the neighbor's children pulling up the plants, banging on the door at night? What evidence exists that they are doing this? Have your parents called the police?

 

[quincy]

Minnesota's dog bite law is not that different from the dog bite laws in other states.

Mn Stat 347.22: If a dog without provocation, attacks or injures any person who is acting peaceably in any place where the person may lawfully be, the owner of the dog is liable in damages to the person so attacked or injured to the full amount of the injury sustained.

If your brother has sought treatment for not only his physical injuries but also for his emotional injuries, these can be included in the amount of damages sought. Your family has several proofs that they must meet. One will be that your brother did not provoke the dog. Another will be the costs of care required for your brother after the bite - both medical and emotional.

The harassment of your parents would be a separate legal issue and will require police reports and the identities of the harassers. A suspicion as to who might be pulling up plants and knocking on the door will not be enough to support legal action.

The housing of the dog in violation of the lease is a matter for the landlord to address - and it appears the landlord has addressed this adequately by prohibiting the tenants from having the dog on the property.

 

[godwit]

No, I wasn't there. I just want to get an idea of my parents options should they choose to pursue anything legally. My brother didn't do anything to the dog, he has always avoided it whenever possible because it barks a lot and he's a sensitive kid. He didn't see it in the yard when he walked by. The owner's son was with him. Now the son's mother says he is not allowed to play with my brother anymore. Because of that, my brother doesn't want to play with his other friends because he doesn't want the neighbor's son to feel left out. The neighbor's other children wait outside when they know my family is leaving the house (I have a big family so it is easy to tell when they are getting ready to go somewhere... lots of commotion). One of them is 19 and on house arrest, and he gets in my dad's face, not caring that if he lays a finger on my dad he could go to jail. They've been seen ripping my father's plants out of his garden, and I'm not sure how they can be "seen" banging on the door from the other side but obviously they've been heard. The other night my dad fell down he stairs in his haste to tell them to go away (he has since gotten medical attention). The police are called at every disturbance. My brother suffers from a few behavioral and mood disorders and sees a professional to help him and our family manage these issues, so any emotional damage he has suffered will be discussed with his therapist, but to my knowledge the extent is yet to be determined. The added stress of dealing with this family who can't get over their dog is the biggest problem right now. I am sure if my family were left alone it would be easier to figure out how the bite itself had an effect on him. for example, is he now afraid of dogs? Will he associate the back yard with that painful event and no longer play there?

As I said before, I know in Minnesota the dog's owner is responsible for all physical and emotional damages related to the dog bite, but what I want to know is if their behavior after the fact should be included in the case should my parents take legal action, or is it a separate issue that is not relevant? And out of curiosity, will their lie about the dog being a service dog have consequences? I should note that Animal Control did write an initial report and my parents have the case number to refer back to.

 

[godwit]

Minnesota's dog bite law is not that different from the dog bite laws in other states.

Mn Stat 347.22: If a dog without provocation, attacks or injures any person who is acting peaceably in any place where the person may lawfully be, the owner of the dog is liable in damages to the person so attacked or injured to the full amount of the injury sustained.

If your brother has sought treatment for not only his physical injuries but also for his emotional injuries, these can be included in the amount of damages sought. Your family has several proofs that they must meet. One will be that your brother did not provoke the dog. Another will be the costs of care required for your brother after the bite - both medical and emotional.

The harassment of your parents would be a separate legal issue and will require police reports and the identities of the harassers. A suspicion as to who might be pulling up plants and knocking on the door will not be enough to support legal action.

The housing of the dog in violation of the lease is a matter for the landlord to address - and it appears the landlord has addressed this adequately by prohibiting the tenants from having the dog on the property.

Thank you! That is exactly what I wanted to know.

 

[Zigner]

Perhaps they should install some security cameras.

 

[Ohiogal]

No, I wasn't there.

Then you don't know what happened.

I just want to get an idea of my parents options should they choose to pursue anything legally.

They can sue in small claims court.

My brother didn't do anything to the dog,

You weren't there so you don't know he didn't do anything to the dog.

he has always avoided it whenever possible because it barks a lot and he's a sensitive kid. He didn't see it in the yard when he walked by. The owner's son was with him.

Okay so what does the owner's son say happened?

Now the son's mother says he is not allowed to play with my brother anymore.

Nothing illegal about that.

Because of that, my brother doesn't want to play with his other friends because he doesn't want the neighbor's son to feel left out.

Your brother's issue then. Nothing that can be sued or for which compensation can be given.

The neighbor's other children wait outside when they know my family is leaving the house (I have a big family so it is easy to tell when they are getting ready to go somewhere... lots of commotion).

Okay.

One of them is 19 and on house arrest, and he gets in my dad's face, not caring that if he lays a finger on my dad he could go to jail.

Have you witnessed this? How does he get in your dad's face if he is on house arrest? What type of building is this? Is your family located on the second or above floor with them below you?

They've been seen ripping my father's plants out of his garden,

Where is the garden located?

and I'm not sure how they can be "seen" banging on the door from the other side but obviously they've been heard.

When they bang you open the door and see them. You need to prove they are doing the banging.

The other night my dad fell down he stairs in his haste to tell them to go away (he has since gotten medical attention).

Nothing collectible from the neighbors with your dad falling.

The police are called at every disturbance.

And what have they found?

My brother suffers from a few behavioral and mood disorders and sees a professional to help him and our family manage these issues, so any emotional damage he has suffered will be discussed with his therapist, but to my knowledge the extent is yet to be determined.

Then the issue becomes providing what is due to the dog bite.

The added stress of dealing with this family who can't get over their dog is the biggest problem right now. I am sure if my family were left alone it would be easier to figure out how the bite itself had an effect on him. for example, is he now afraid of dogs? Will he associate the back yard with that painful event and no longer play there?

That is an excuse because your brother has a therapist who could be attempting to determine that now.

As I said before, I know in Minnesota the dog's owner is responsible for all physical and emotional damages related to the dog bite, but what I want to know is if their behavior after the fact should be included in the case should my parents take legal action, or is it a separate issue that is not relevant? And out of curiosity, will their lie about the dog being a service dog have consequences? I should note that Animal Control did write an initial report and my parents have the case number to refer back to.

Your parents cannot collect on stuff like the therapy your brother was already receiving, the fall down the stairs, or those types of things. The garden plants are a different situation and your parents may be able to recover the costs of the plants that were ruined. Not everything is monetarily compensable. What your parents might want to do is look at moving when their lease is up, getting a protection order if possible against the neighbors, reporting the 19 year old's actions to his probation officer, or those types of things.

 

[Netspin]

The dog's bite is even worse when you can't quarantine the dog.

FIRST
A. It sounds as if the dog that attacked your brother was unrestrained either by tether, leash or enclosure. Regardless of the venue (assuming no trespass) with the proper police report and medical record, your brother's allegation of the dog's attack has a very strong case. If possible, you might consider capturing the dog when in this unrestricted state on camera.

B. Harassment is also an offense. Shunning is not. As noted also by others, you need corroborating evidence. A video surveillance system would provide the exacting person-specific ID to dispel any doubt of those perpetrating the disturbances and do so on a continuous data acquisition basis. Unfortunately, this is but another way the justice system imposes upon the victim to make the sacrifice (here financially) to gather the evidence. If these ancillary expenses cannot be covered in your law suite then go the extra mile as many innocents of injustice have throughout history and shame your legislators. Join the crusade to ease the prosecution and conviction of reckless or intimidating dog behavior especially that which occurs in the public space. Seek compensation for pain and suffering currently not addressed in small claims court. Increase the obligation upon dog owner's to show their dog is in compliance with all municipal statues by a mandatory and easily observable worn official display.

SECOND
Disregard any and all comments or questions that suggest your little brother provoked the dog or that because you weren't there you don't "know". The fact is what someone told you is admissible in a court of law. These questions imply that your brother or you have no credibility. This would be the tactic of the dog owner's (defense) attorney should they buy one. Their strategy at least must be to discredit your brother and thereby broaden the shadow of doubt over his case.

Dog attacks are becoming quite commonplace. Any Google will bear that out. A result more of media fear mongering news formats, a key ingredient to glued-in viewership, the paranoid pork heads of America are whipped up to hunker down, barricade the "outpost" and arm themselves with everything from attack dogs to 100-round automatic fire power. It almost seems like the only truly free (free from defensive paranoia) person is the criminal not yet caught! America land of the free, home of the Brave New World! However, dog violence convictions, nationwide, have a greater than 90% success rate.

Tell the truth Mr. godwit and justice will be done.

P.S. As you know, had you not been able to professionally observe the dog for 10 days, your brother would have faced 5 weeks of as many visits to the hospital emergency room for the rabies PEP all at his expense.
Ten days is the time-certain for the animals death had the rabies virus migrated to its brain and thus been transmittable through a bite.

That, however, does not protect against any other infectious microorganism (e.g. bacteria) contained in its saliva and also possibly transmitted during the attack. These consequences could take weeks, months or even years before their symptoms might be discovered.

 

[Zigner]

The fact is what someone told you is admissible in a court of law.

These questions imply that your brother or you have no credibility.

No, that's what you inferred. What was implied (clearly) is that the OP doesn't know what happened except based on what he was told.

 

[Ohiogal]

FIRST
A. It sounds as if the dog that attacked your brother was unrestrained either by tether, leash or enclosure. Regardless of the venue (assuming no trespass) with the proper police report and medical record, your brother's allegation of the dog's attack has a very strong case. If possible, you might consider capturing the dog when in this unrestricted state on camera.

B. Harassment is also an offense. Shunning is not. As noted also by others, you need corroborating evidence. A video surveillance system would provide the exacting person-specific ID to dispel any doubt of those perpetrating the disturbances and do so on a continuous data acquisition basis. Unfortunately, this is but another way the justice system imposes upon the victim to make the sacrifice (here financially) to gather the evidence. If these ancillary expenses cannot be covered in your law suite then go the extra mile as many innocents of injustice have throughout history and shame your legislators. Join the crusade to ease the prosecution and conviction of reckless or intimidating dog behavior especially that which occurs in the public space. Seek compensation for pain and suffering currently not addressed in small claims court. Increase the obligation upon dog owner's to show their dog is in compliance with all municipal statues by a mandatory and easily observable worn official display.

SECOND
Disregard any and all comments or questions that suggest your little brother provoked the dog or that because you weren't there you don't "know". The fact is what someone told you is admissible in a court of law. These questions imply that your brother or you have no credibility. This would be the tactic of the dog owner's (defense) attorney should they buy one. Their strategy at least must be to discredit your brother and thereby broaden the shadow of doubt over his case.

Dog attacks are becoming quite commonplace. Any Google will bear that out. A result more of media fear mongering news formats, a key ingredient to glued-in viewership, the paranoid pork heads of America are whipped up to hunker down, barricade the "outpost" and arm themselves with everything from attack dogs to 100-round automatic fire power. It almost seems like the only truly free (free from defensive paranoia) person is the criminal not yet caught! America land of the free, home of the Brave New World! However, dog violence convictions, nationwide, have a greater than 90% success rate.

Tell the truth Mr. godwit and justice will be done.

P.S. As you know, had you not been able to professionally observe the dog for 10 days, your brother would have faced 5 weeks of as many visits to the hospital emergency room for the rabies PEP all at his expense.
Ten days is the time-certain for the animals death had the rabies virus migrated to its brain and thus been transmittable through a bite.

That, however, does not protect against any other infectious microorganism (e.g. bacteria) contained in its saliva and also possibly transmitted during the attack. These consequences could take weeks, months or even years before their symptoms might be discovered.

Mr. Godwit doesn't KNOW anything. At. All. He wasn't there. He wasn't a witness. Too bad you know nothing about the law.

 

[Proserpina]

Mr. Godwit doesn't KNOW anything. At. All. He wasn't there. He wasn't a witness. Too bad you know nothing about the law.

Wow.... gotta admit it, OG, it's been a while since someone was THAT far off!

 

[quincy]

FIRST
A. It sounds as if the dog that attacked your brother was unrestrained either by tether, leash or enclosure. Regardless of the venue (assuming no trespass) with the proper police report and medical record, your brother's allegation of the dog's attack has a very strong case. If possible, you might consider capturing the dog when in this unrestricted state on camera.

Netspin, did you read where the brother was in the shared yard, and did you read where the landlord has banned the tenants' dog from the property? I am thinking you missed that.

B. Harassment is also an offense. Shunning is not. As noted also by others, you need corroborating evidence. A video surveillance system would provide the exacting person-specific ID to dispel any doubt of those perpetrating the disturbances and do so on a continuous data acquisition basis. Unfortunately, this is but another way the justice system imposes upon the victim to make the sacrifice (here financially) to gather the evidence. If these ancillary expenses cannot be covered in your law suite then go the extra mile as many innocents of injustice have throughout history and shame your legislators. Join the crusade to ease the prosecution and conviction of reckless or intimidating dog behavior especially that which occurs in the public space. Seek compensation for pain and suffering currently not addressed in small claims court. Increase the obligation upon dog owner's to show their dog is in compliance with all municipal statues by a mandatory and easily observable worn official display.

It is "suit" not "suite" and it is "statute" not "statue." The rest of what you wrote is a bit of a confused mess. If you are saying a surveillance system could help to identify the plant-destroyers and door-knockers, that is certainly possible. But what crusade? What exactly does "worn official display" mean? What are you talking about?

SECOND
Disregard any and all comments or questions that suggest your little brother provoked the dog or that because you weren't there you don't "know". The fact is what someone told you is admissible in a court of law. These questions imply that your brother or you have no credibility. This would be the tactic of the dog owner's (defense) attorney should they buy one. Their strategy at least must be to discredit your brother and thereby broaden the shadow of doubt over his case.

godwit wasn't there. The brother and the other tenant's son, apparently, were.

Dog attacks are becoming quite commonplace. Any Google will bear that out. A result more of media fear mongering news formats, a key ingredient to glued-in viewership, the paranoid pork heads of America are whipped up to hunker down, barricade the "outpost" and arm themselves with everything from attack dogs to 100-round automatic fire power. It almost seems like the only truly free (free from defensive paranoia) person is the criminal not yet caught! America land of the free, home of the Brave New World! However, dog violence convictions, nationwide, have a greater than 90% success rate.

The above-quoted portion would be sort of funny if it wasn't so wrong.

Tell the truth Mr. godwit and justice will be done.

P.S. As you know, had you not been able to professionally observe the dog for 10 days, your brother would have faced 5 weeks of as many visits to the hospital emergency room for the rabies PEP all at his expense.
Ten days is the time-certain for the animals death had the rabies virus migrated to its brain and thus been transmittable through a bite.

That, however, does not protect against any other infectious microorganism (e.g. bacteria) contained in its saliva and also possibly transmitted during the attack. These consequences could take weeks, months or even years before their symptoms might be discovered.

"Mr. godwit" is not a party to this. "Mr. godwit" has a brother who was bitten by a dog. I am sure that the brother's health is being monitored.

I guess I cannot understand why you posted, Netspin. I see nothing of value in your post.

 

[Just Blue]

FIRST
A. It sounds as if the dog that attacked your brother was unrestrained either by tether, leash or enclosure. Regardless of the venue (assuming no trespass) with the proper police report and medical record, your brother's allegation of the dog's attack has a very strong case. If possible, you might consider capturing the dog when in this unrestricted state on camera.

B. Harassment is also an offense. Shunning is not. As noted also by others, you need corroborating evidence. A video surveillance system would provide the exacting person-specific ID to dispel any doubt of those perpetrating the disturbances and do so on a continuous data acquisition basis. Unfortunately, this is but another way the justice system imposes upon the victim to make the sacrifice (here financially) to gather the evidence. If these ancillary expenses cannot be covered in your law suite then go the extra mile as many innocents of injustice have throughout history and shame your legislators. Join the crusade to ease the prosecution and conviction of reckless or intimidating dog behavior especially that which occurs in the public space. Seek compensation for pain and suffering currently not addressed in small claims court. Increase the obligation upon dog owner's to show their dog is in compliance with all municipal statues by a mandatory and easily observable worn official display.

SECOND
Disregard any and all comments or questions that suggest your little brother provoked the dog or that because you weren't there you don't "know". The fact is what someone told you is admissible in a court of law. These questions imply that your brother or you have no credibility. This would be the tactic of the dog owner's (defense) attorney should they buy one. Their strategy at least must be to discredit your brother and thereby broaden the shadow of doubt over his case.

Dog attacks are becoming quite commonplace. Any Google will bear that out. A result more of media fear mongering news formats, a key ingredient to glued-in viewership, the paranoid pork heads of America are whipped up to hunker down, barricade the "outpost" and arm themselves with everything from attack dogs to 100-round automatic fire power. It almost seems like the only truly free (free from defensive paranoia) person is the criminal not yet caught! America land of the free, home of the Brave New World! However, dog violence convictions, nationwide, have a greater than 90% success rate.

Tell the truth Mr. godwit and justice will be done.

P.S. As you know, had you not been able to professionally observe the dog for 10 days, your brother would have faced 5 weeks of as many visits to the hospital emergency room for the rabies PEP all at his expense.
Ten days is the time-certain for the animals death had the rabies virus migrated to its brain and thus been transmittable through a bite.

That, however, does not protect against any other infectious microorganism (e.g. bacteria) contained in its saliva and also possibly transmitted during the attack. These consequences could take weeks, months or even years before their symptoms might be discovered.

A village has misplaced their idiot. Go home...