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06-23-2009, 03:13 PM
| | Junior Member | | Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 3
| | | Dog injured elderly neighbor
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? TX
A few days ago, while we were playing in an open area near our home, our dog jumped on an elderly neighbor. It was not malicious, but the lady ended up aggravating a preexisting back condition fairly severely.
She was taking to the emergency room and required 2 surgeries for an estimated $10,000 or so in medical bills. We feel awful about the whole situation and are happy to pay her bills for her, but she is asking for an additional $30,000 over 2 years for quality of life and emotional distress. Approx ~$40k total
Now, I'm not arguing that her quality of life has probably been negatively effected by the incident, but $30,000 is probably more salary than she'd receive from any retirement benefits. It just seems quite excessive in this situation. I guess I really just want to know if 3x medical cost is normal recourse for pet injuries. Thanks |
06-23-2009, 03:25 PM
| | Senior Member | | Join Date: Jan 2001
Posts: 12,019
| | | When you contacted your homeowner's insurance company, what did they say?
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06-23-2009, 03:30 PM
| | Junior Member | | Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 3
| | Quote:
Originally Posted by racer72  When you contacted your homeowner's insurance company, what did they say? | We bought the house about 10 years ago. At the time, we did not have a dog and opted out of the pet protection portion of the homeowners insurance. We got her about 5 months ago and never realized the opt out was still in effect. I took a look at our contract, and it looks like we are still not covered by them |
06-23-2009, 04:39 PM
| | Senior Member | | Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 17,305
| | | Does she have any significant permanent damage or scarring? Does she have a lawyer?
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Lawsuits are not about justice. They are about MONEY. If you don't want money, then you shouldn't be thinking about suing. And people post here because they are thinking about suing. Because they want money, no matter how much they don't want to admit that to themselves.
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06-23-2009, 05:08 PM
| | Junior Member | | Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 3
| | Quote:
Originally Posted by ecmst12 Does she have any significant permanent damage or scarring? Does she have a lawyer? | As far as I know she does not have any permanent damage or scarring. Early in the negotiations, she was asking for 6 months (the amount of time she felt was needed for her full recovery) of a home-care worker to help her to recuperate.
Also, as far as I know, she is not represented by an attorney - we have been dealing directly with her, but she has been consulting with her daughter-in-law, who is a lawyer.
Thank you for both your responses. I really appreciate the insight |
06-23-2009, 06:06 PM
| | Senior Member | | Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 17,305
| | | 2 surgeries is pretty serious and I'm surprised the medical bills aren't higher. You really should consult an attorney of your own - expect a lawsuit at some point.
__________________
Lawsuits are not about justice. They are about MONEY. If you don't want money, then you shouldn't be thinking about suing. And people post here because they are thinking about suing. Because they want money, no matter how much they don't want to admit that to themselves.
-Auto insurance adjuster for 2 years - as of 6/15/09, I am FREE!
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