Dog Bite Settlement

The Case

A 9-year-old girl was attacked by a neighbor's large mixed-breed dog while playing in a friend's front yard in Snellville, Georgia. The dog, which had escaped from its owner's yard through a gap in the fence, knocked the child to the ground and bit her multiple times on the face, arms, and legs. The attack caused deep lacerations requiring over 80 stitches, permanent facial scarring, tendon damage in her right hand, and severe emotional trauma including diagnosed PTSD, nightmares, and an intense fear of animals.

The Challenge

Under Georgia's dog bite statute (O.C.G.A. 51-2-7), the victim must prove that the dog was vicious or dangerous and that the owner was aware of that propensity, or that the dog was not properly restrained. The dog owner claimed the animal had never shown aggressive behavior before and that the escape through the fence was an unforeseeable accident. They argued that the child may have provoked the dog. The dog owner's homeowner's insurance also attempted to invoke a breed exclusion clause, though the dog was a mixed breed rather than a specifically excluded breed.

The Result

Our investigation uncovered two prior incidents where the dog had lunged at or snapped at neighbors and delivery workers, which the owner had failed to report. We obtained written statements from three neighbors documenting the dog's aggressive history. We also showed that Gwinnett County animal control had received a complaint about the dog six months before the attack, establishing that the owner had knowledge of the animal's dangerous propensity. Regarding the fence, we proved the gap had existed for months and was visible to any reasonable homeowner. A pediatric plastic surgeon testified about the child's need for future reconstructive surgeries as she grows, and a child psychologist documented the severity and likely permanence of her PTSD symptoms. The case settled for $425,000, with the settlement structured to provide for future medical care and counseling through the child's adolescence.