Court Awards Symbolic $100 Million Award to Victim of Dog Attack
Steve Constantine, an animal care volunteer in Detroit, has recently been awarded $100 Million by a civil court judge for injuries he received while attempting to feed a neighbor’s dogs. The gigantic award is the second-largest on record for a dog attack victim, and was issued against the owner of the dogs and that owner’s mother, who owned the home where the dogs lived. The attack occurred in October of 2014, while Constantine was feeding dogs belonging to Derick Felton in the backyard of a home owned by Felton’s mother, Elizabeth Collins Felton. Even though the twelve dogs had adequate access to food and were not starving, the dogs attacked Constantine, causing him to lose most of his left arm, his left ear, and his left leg below the knee. Derek Felton was present when the attack began and fled the scene, but was found and arrested in March of 2015. He will face trial in September of this year. While it is likely that Constantine will not recover more than a small portion of the award, Constantine’s attorney called the award “an enormously symbolic statement by the court that this type of conduct is unacceptable in our community. The ability to collect is largely irrelevant. We wanted a number that got people’s attention.” Constantine’s attorney suggested that the house owned by defendant Elizabeth Collins Felton, where the dogs were housed, would be the asset upon which the court would be able to collect to satisfy the judgment.
The verdict coincided with National Dog Bite Prevention Week, a time designed to inform individuals of how to reduce dog-related injuries. A recent report released by State Farm insurance shows that New Jersey is 10th in the nation in the number of insurance claims submitted for dog bites in 2014. $6.4 million was paid by insurers for 101 claims last year.
New Jersey imposes strict liability upon dog owners whose dogs bite individuals whom the owner has allowed on his property, or whom the dog bites while in public. This means that the owner need not be aware that a dog has a propensity to bite in order to be responsible for any harm the dog causes to others. In addition to dog bites, an owner can be liable if a dog jumps excitedly on an individual and causes injuries to that person from falling or bruising the individual experiences as a result. Even someone who trespasses onto a dog owner’s property, if that trespassing is done without criminal intent, can seek damages for injuries caused by the owner’s dog.
If you or a loved one experiences a dog bite or dog attack in New Jersey, seek legal consultation from a lawyer with the skill and knowledge necessary to ensure you’re compensated fully for your injuries. Contact the experienced New Jersey dog bite attorneys at Massood Law Group for a free consultation on your possible personal injury claim at 1-844-4MB-HURT.
