What is the name of your state? TX
I need to know if I have a case here.
I was bitten by a Boston Terrier belonging to a resident at the same apartment community as me. I was walking from the apartment office towards my apartment via the courtyard. A woman was walking her two Boston Terriers. As she saw that I was getting closer, she pulled her dogs towards her. I thought that she had a good grip on her leash, so I proceeded to walk by. Just as I passed, one of her dogs lunged at my leg and bit the back of my thigh. She then tugged at her dog, and he lunged again, this time his jaws locked right below my left calf muscle. She finally got him to break away from my leg. She told me where she lived, and that if I needed to reach her that she'd be home. I was in a state of shock, and was barely coherent. I went directly to my apartment and inspected my leg. It had swelled to the size of a tennis ball within seconds, and the skin was broken. I immediately went back downstairs trying to see if I could reach the dog's owner, but she was not answering her door. Luckily, one of the leasing agents was on the grounds just finishing a showing to a couple, and I explained to her what had happened. She proceeded to knock on the door of the dog's owner, with no response. She assisted me to the leasing office, and provided me with information on the dogs.
After leaving the leasing office, I went to the emergency room. I filled out the required paperwork to submit to animal control.
The folowing morning, I went to the apartment of the dog's owner to see if she could provide me with more information on the dog that bit me (ie: veterinarian's name, phone number & address). She was not prepared, so I gave her my phone number to call me.
She finally called me 5 hours later. She gave me the name of a vet and phone. I also inquired if she had a renter's insurance policy. She told me that she didn't have renter's insurance and asked what that had to do with anything, so I explained that in some policies there is a personal liablilty clause, and that it can possibly take care of the expences. She became very defensive, and basically told me that it was my fault that her dog attacked me, because "I walked in front of it." And, then she asked, "What kind of person walks in front of a dog that barked at them?" -- This infuriated me, so I hung up.
I tried the phone number that she gave me for the vet's office, and it was an invalid phone number. I did a directory search, and found no name matching in the directory. I then proceeded to call animal control myself, instead of waiting for the paperwork I had filled out at the hospital to reach them.
The apartment management has been more that cooperative with me since this whole incident.
My boss and my sister have told me that maybe I should file suit against the apartment community as well, but that just doesn't feel right to me.
What should I do?
I need to know if I have a case here.
I was bitten by a Boston Terrier belonging to a resident at the same apartment community as me. I was walking from the apartment office towards my apartment via the courtyard. A woman was walking her two Boston Terriers. As she saw that I was getting closer, she pulled her dogs towards her. I thought that she had a good grip on her leash, so I proceeded to walk by. Just as I passed, one of her dogs lunged at my leg and bit the back of my thigh. She then tugged at her dog, and he lunged again, this time his jaws locked right below my left calf muscle. She finally got him to break away from my leg. She told me where she lived, and that if I needed to reach her that she'd be home. I was in a state of shock, and was barely coherent. I went directly to my apartment and inspected my leg. It had swelled to the size of a tennis ball within seconds, and the skin was broken. I immediately went back downstairs trying to see if I could reach the dog's owner, but she was not answering her door. Luckily, one of the leasing agents was on the grounds just finishing a showing to a couple, and I explained to her what had happened. She proceeded to knock on the door of the dog's owner, with no response. She assisted me to the leasing office, and provided me with information on the dogs.
After leaving the leasing office, I went to the emergency room. I filled out the required paperwork to submit to animal control.
The folowing morning, I went to the apartment of the dog's owner to see if she could provide me with more information on the dog that bit me (ie: veterinarian's name, phone number & address). She was not prepared, so I gave her my phone number to call me.
She finally called me 5 hours later. She gave me the name of a vet and phone. I also inquired if she had a renter's insurance policy. She told me that she didn't have renter's insurance and asked what that had to do with anything, so I explained that in some policies there is a personal liablilty clause, and that it can possibly take care of the expences. She became very defensive, and basically told me that it was my fault that her dog attacked me, because "I walked in front of it." And, then she asked, "What kind of person walks in front of a dog that barked at them?" -- This infuriated me, so I hung up.
I tried the phone number that she gave me for the vet's office, and it was an invalid phone number. I did a directory search, and found no name matching in the directory. I then proceeded to call animal control myself, instead of waiting for the paperwork I had filled out at the hospital to reach them.
The apartment management has been more that cooperative with me since this whole incident.
My boss and my sister have told me that maybe I should file suit against the apartment community as well, but that just doesn't feel right to me.
What should I do?