Neighbors dog caused serious injuries

[MoJoDon'tDance]

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

Our neighbor's dog jumped the wall a few times, the first time he attacked our small dog, the next two times he ran around marking our yard, the fourth time he attacked our dog again and when my husband tried to restrain the dog he fell and did serious injury to his shoulder. It required surgery to repair. We contacted the neighbors insurance co and they have paid all the bills and stated that the homeowner was negligent and liable. We submitted a demand letter and the insurance co claims that the homeowner only has $100,000 policy limit for Personal Liability. That's about 1/3 of what we asked for. We had hoped not to have to sue them cause they have two young kids plus we do have to live next to them. Any thoughts? Thanks.

[Zigner]

Originally Posted by MoJoDon'tDance

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

Our neighbor's dog jumped the wall a few times, the first time he attacked our small dog, the next two times he ran around marking our yard, the fourth time he attacked our dog again and when my husband tried to restrain the dog he fell and did serious injury to his shoulder. It required surgery to repair. We contacted the neighbors insurance co and they have paid all the bills and stated that the homeowner was negligent and liable. We submitted a demand letter and the insurance co claims that the homeowner only has $100,000 policy limit for Personal Liability. That's about 1/3 of what we asked for. We had hoped not to have to sue them cause they have two young kids plus we do have to live next to them. Any thoughts? Thanks.

If you want to get paid, you'll probably have to sue...and you'll likely have to sue for the full $300,000 and NOT take the $100,000 offered (because you'll have to waive your right to seek the balance).

Have you reported this animal to the authorities?

[ecmst12]

Do you have a lawyer? You can't sue without one, so I hope you do.

[Antigone*of*Greece]

Originally Posted by Zigner

If you want to get paid, you'll probably have to sue...and you'll likely have to sue for the full $300,000 and NOT take the $100,000 offered (because you'll have to waive your right to seek the balance).

Have you reported this animal to the authorities?

Actually Zig, if they take what the insurance offers, let's say the 100k, then they don't have to pay 1/3 of whatever they get to attorneys. They might even come out ahead.

[MoJoDon'tDance]

Originally Posted by Zigner

If you want to get paid, you'll probably have to sue...and you'll likely have to sue for the full $300,000 and NOT take the $100,000 offered (because you'll have to waive your right to seek the balance).

Have you reported this animal to the authorities?

Even if we sue there's no guarantee that we will ever see any money. The neighbors took a large HELOC out on their house a couple years ago and did a ton of upgrades to their yard. They added a expensive pool and a freestanding hot tub. You'd think they would have increased their policy limits because now there are more ways someone could get hurt on their property. They probably never considered anyone could get hurt off of their property and that they would be liable for damages because of a dog. Now that the economy is down they probably owe more than their house is worth...so where would the money come from? If we sued for $300K and won we would owe 33-40% to the lawyer and maybe lucky to net $180K.

We filed a police report about the dog the same day it happened...the neighbor wasn't happy because he is a police officer! BTW, they got rid of the dog. We think that the Ins Co. told them to. They only had the dog for one week before he jumped the wall the first time.

[MoJoDon'tDance]

Originally Posted by ecmst12

Do you have a lawyer? You can't sue without one, so I hope you do.

We don't have a lawyer as of yet. We have been trying to do this on our own. We don't like how much lawyers charge. We may contact one that offers a free consultation and see what they say. One of our neighbors knows a judge and he thought that we have a very good case. But, as I said, what if the people don't have any assets to pay up with?

[ecmst12]

At this point, you have 2 choices. Either take the $100k or find a lawyer willing to go to trial for the POSSIBILITY of collecting on personal assets. It won't be cheap and you might not even be able to find one.

How much were his bills and what kind of permanent loss of function does he have?

[MoJoDon'tDance]

Originally Posted by ecmst12

At this point, you have 2 choices. Either take the $100k or find a lawyer willing to go to trial for the POSSIBILITY of collecting on personal assets. It won't be cheap and you might not even be able to find one.

How much were his bills and what kind of permanent loss of function does he have?

I'm pretty sure we can find a lawyer and win but would we ever see any money....that is the question.
If we didn't have medical insurance the bills would have been around $44K! Insurance paid $14K and we paid $2,500. We've been reimbursed as well as UHC by the neighbors homeowners insurance. There's only about $84K left.

My husband suffered a severe dislocated shoulder, a full thickness rotator cuff tear and a fractured glenoid fossa (the cup part that hold the head of the arm bone) which required three screws. He now has limited mobility in his arm and shoulder and could face additional medical problems in the future related to the injury.

[ecmst12]

And you don't think $84k would be enough to cover it? You have to consider not only liability, but would you ever be able to collect more then the insurance coverage, and would it be worth the THOUSANDS of additional expenses that come from a trial. The answer is very likely no.

[tammy8]

So if you have gotten the $100L already, then you likely signed a release?

[JessiesGirl]

Tammy,

I don't think they accepted the $100K yet. I think that's all that the neighbor's policy has left on their limit of $100K. The balance of the policy is $84K.

Kathy

[tammy8]

OP for a claim that big you are going to HAVE to get an attorney. NO insurance company is going to just hand YOU a $100K check.

[MoJoDon'tDance]

Originally Posted by ecmst12

And you don't think $84k would be enough to cover it? You have to consider not only liability, but would you ever be able to collect more then the insurance coverage, and would it be worth the THOUSANDS of additional expenses that come from a trial. The answer is very likely no.

No, we don't think $84K is enough. I wouldn't have posted here if we thought it was enough. Their own insurance co. rep told us they think our claim is worth more! My husband is 59 and in pain everyday because of this injury. He has a 4 inch scar too. Everyday activities are painful, swimming is not much fun nor are his bike rides...everything causes pain for him. If these people had taken the first wall jumping incident serious then my husband wouldn't have gotten injured. They promised us that it woudn't happen a second time and it happened three more times! Talk about being neglient! We don't know if they really only have a $100K limit or not, the homeowner told my husband that they had "plus" coverage, as if to say they have more than the minimum...heck..we have $500K! The average is $300K on personal liability. You can get $1,000,000 if you want it. The difference in the cost is about $75 a year from $100K to $1,000,000...that's not much to spend for peace of mind.

[MoJoDon'tDance]

Originally Posted by tammy8

OP for a claim that big you are going to HAVE to get an attorney. NO insurance company is going to just hand YOU a $100K check.

I beg to differ...most homeowners and auto insurance claims are settled without a lawyer. It would cost the insurance co. a ton of money to go to court all the time. The ones that are against a corporation or department store probably need a lawyer and then they get 33-40% of the settlement!
Nolo has lots of books to help the average person learn about the laws, they are a great source of info.

[ecmst12]

If they say $100k is the limit, then ask for a copy of the declarations page to prove it.