As a proud legal advocate for Pennsylvania dog Bite victims, I fight for my clients’ rights and have settled a variety of challenging cases, ensuring fair compensation for those who have suffered harm due to negligence or misconduct.
Amazon driver just handed a package to the customer. As he was walking back to his vehicle, a Pit Bull came from behind the house and chased the driver all the way to his car. Unfortunately, the driver could not get away from the dog, who bit him on the buttocks very badly. The dog owner had to get the dog away with a baseball bat. The wounds were so deep that the ER had to place stitches (which is very rare for a dog bite because they want it to drain so it doesn’t get infected). Several months later, the wounds had healed nicely, but there was still scarring. Good settlement for the injury–and it’s not what the injury was at the moment of the attack–it’s all about what the healed injury looks like. And usually those 2 pictures are very different.
Female neighbor went next-door to hand-over a mis-delivered package. As soon as the neighbor opened the front door, a German Shepherd lunged and bit my client in the face. She was immediately taken by her husband to the ER, but the injury was too complex for them to handle. So they had to go to another hospital with a plastic surgeon on staff, and she was taken right into surgery where they stitched the wound. This dog had had other incidents and because this was incident #3, the judge ordered the dog to be put down. The homeowner’s carrier was not making fair offers, so I filed a lawsuit. Once defense counsel got involved, he was able to convince the carrier to pay way more than they were thinking. An amount that was fair under the circumstances. Often a defense lawyer is able to get things done that an adjuster cannot. And this was one of those times. Very pleasing result.
Tenant owned a dog that escaped through a hole in the fenced-in yard. I sent a letter to the tenant asking for her renter’s insurance information, and she told me she didn’t have that. I decided to then put the landlord on notice of the incident, arguing that even though it wasn’t his dog, the incident would not have occurred had he kept the fence in good repair. The tenant told me that she had complained to her landlord about the problem with the fence, and he did nothing to correct it. The landlord’s insurance company denied the claim, arguing it was not their insured’s dog. I sued the landlord under a simple negligence theory arguing that had the fence been fixed properly, the dog could not have escaped. After a 3 day jury trial, the jury agreed and returned a very favorable verdict for my client.
Settlement in Philadelphia County. Neighbor went to next door neighbor’s house. After ringing the bell, she waited for the door to be opened when 2 dogs ran from behind the house and attacked her, biting her legs. The dog owner ran out and got the dogs off, but sustained significant injuries to her arms. 8 months later everything had healed nicely, but there was visible residual scarring and PTSD. Case settled before trial.
Verdict in Delaware County. 6 year old child was playing with a few other kids in the yard where the dog lived. The dog was outside with them chasing the kids around. My client tackled another kid and the dog, trying to protect the child (son of parents who own the dog) attacked my client, biting him on the arms and legs. The injuries were moderate, and required cleaning and debridement at the ER. A year later, there were scars left behind, both physical and psychological. The insurance company denied the claim saying (1) it happened on the dog’s own property; (2) the dog was provoked and (3) no prior incidents. During litigation, I was able to get the dog owners to admit that the dog barked a lot, and jumped on guests (playfully, according to them). This fact was enough to argue to the jury that they should have known that the dog should have been kept away from others due to his “aggressive propensities.” The jury agreed and flu found against the dog owner.
Settlement in Allegheny County: Uber Eats driver arrived at customer’s home to deliver food. When she got to the front door, the owner opened it and the German Shepherd ran past the owner and bit the Uber driver on her hand. The injury required 5 stitches and a Rabies series. 6 months after the attack the case settled.
$500,000.00 dog bite settlement. A realtor was meeting a homeowner to discuss a potential listing when their German Shepherd entered the kitchen and suddenly bit her in the face. She was taken by ambulance to the ER for stitches and later underwent three plastic surgeries. A small scar remained on her cheek. The case settled for full policy limits.
$50,000.00 jury verdict in Bucks County. A man was sitting on his front porch reading when his neighbor’s dog ran over and attacked him, causing multiple chest and torso lacerations. He sought treatment at urgent care the next day. No scarring and minimal treatment followed. Great result for a relatively minor case.
$100,000.00 settlement. Tenant entered an elevator where another resident’s dog bit her dominant hand and would not release until the owner intervened. She went to the ER, where the wound was cleaned but didn’t need stitches. A visible 3″ scar remained. Laser resurfacing was recommended to improve its appearance.
$80,000.00 settlement in Philadelphia County. A 32-year-old woman was walking back to her vehicle after completing a DoorDash delivery when a dog ran out from the house and bit her on the back of the thigh. The bite broke the skin but didn’t require stitches or plastic surgery. Despite the relatively minor injury, I secured a settlement far above what trial might have awarded.
$100,000.00 settlement. DoorDasher delivers food to homeowner. As she was walking back to her vehicle, dog comes from behind her and latches onto her leg and starts shaking her leg back and forth taking a chunk out of her leg which required plastic surgery. Settled for full policy limits within 3 weeks of the incident.
$215,000.00 verdict in Philadelphia County. FedEx driver rang doorbell and as soon as the door opened (by a child who lived in the house) a German Shepherd ran out, jumped-up and bit the victim on the face. The injury required 15 stitches and plastic surgery which was successful — the scar had healed well — by the time of trial it was a crooked line on the cheek. The jury was horrified by the initial photographs which motivated them to award such a large amount.
Uber Eats driver was directed to go to the home of the customer, who was at work (she put in the wrong address). When the driver arrived, she wasn’t expected, so the dogs were not put away. As the driver approached the front door, 2 dogs ran out from behind the house and knocked her to the ground, biting her on the arms and legs causing lacerations and scarring. Case settled for $150,000.00 due to the injuries and diagnosed PTSD.
$100,000.00 settlement. Client was considering fostering a dog because the dog owner worked too much to be able to care for the dog appropriately. At least that was what the dog owner said. Within 4 hours of the dog being taken to his new home, he attacked the 15 year old daughter, biting her on the face and left breast. They got the dog into a closet until the original owner arrived to take back the dog. The insurance company denied the claim so a lawsuit was filed. It was revealed that the real reason the dog was being re-homed was because the children in that house were scared of it. Once the lawyer for the insurance company heard this (that the dog owner lied about why she was giving-up the dog), the case settled for the policy limits.
United States Postal Service mailman was attacked as she was delivering a package. After handing the package to the homeowner, her dog which was on a leash, broke-free and bit the driver on her left arm. The scar was about 6” long, and was clearly visible. Dog owner’s insurance company settled for $100,000.00.
$300,000.00 verdict. Young lady was walking her dog past a neighbor’s house which had a fenced-in yard with a Pit Bull. As she was walking by, the Pit Bull slammed his body against the fence and escaped, attacking the young lady’s dog. While the dog was being attacked, the young lady tried to save her dog and in the process, got badly bitten on her arm and back. The dog owner got the dog away and drive the victim to the hospital, where she was stitched and given antibiotics. Unfortunately the dog died. The victim had permanent scarring. The insurance company offered $100,000.00 which was rejected and a lawsuit was filed. Before trial, the offer increased to $200,000.00, which was also rejected. The lawyer said “take it or leave it.” Luckily she didn’t take it because the jury awarded her $300,000.00.
This case was settled in 9 days for the entire policy limits. The client had the tip of her finger bitten off by a Pit Bull. Mr. Penneys sent the injury photographs to the insurance company, and insisted that they tender the entire policy, which they quickly did.
A Philadelphia minor child was playing in her yard when the neighbor’s German Shepherd came onto her property and attacked her, causing severe injuries/scarring to her face. The dog owners tried to blame the child, saying that she wandered onto their property. However, the owners’ claim was not believed by anyone, including their own insurance company, which settled just before a lawsuit was about to be filed.
A Montgomery County child was riding his bicycle through the neighborhood when a neighbor’s dog broke through the fence on the property, and grabbed a hold of the child’s leg, causing him to fall from his bicycle. The dog then proceeded to bite the child on multiple parts of the body, causing significant blood loss. The child was rushed to the emergency room, where he was treated and released. The insurance company quickly settled without the need for a lawsuit.
A UPS driver approached the front door of a home to deliver a package. As soon as the door opened, an Akita ran out and bit the driver on his right leg and would not let go. The dog owner had to hit his dog with a golf club to get him to release. Once the dog released the person’s leg, the driver was rushed to hospital because the leg was so damaged. After surgery, the driver had 6 months of physical therapy. Unfortunately, the dog attack left the driver with a sizable scar on the leg, as well as a ton of medical bills. The case was settled shortly after a lawsuit was filed.
A teenage girl went to her boyfriend’s house and while there, a dog that was normally kept in the basement due to aggression issues was allowed upstairs. Immediately after seeing the girl, the dog lunged at her, biting her upper lip. Blood was everywhere, and she was immediately taken to the emergency room, where a plastic surgeon was called in to perform a procedure. The lip healed well, but she continued to have nerve issues in the area of the bite.
A Philadelphia dog sitter was hired to watch a customer’s dogs for the weekend. Upon arrival to the customer’s home to start the job, one of the 2 dogs jumped up on her, pushed her down to the ground, and started attacking her. She was able to get away, but not after the dog had bitten a hole through her right leg. She called 911 and the emergency services immediately sent an ambulance which transported her to the nearest ER. Unfortunately, the dog was not current with its rabies vaccinations, and she contracted rabies. After antibiotics, 5 months of physical therapy and a permanently scarred leg, the insurance company settled for $375,000.
Great Bucks County jury verdict. A Bucks County woman went to a party with a friend. There was a dog at the house that was normally kept isolated from guests, but for some reason was not on this night. Shortly after arriving at the house, she encountered the dog and went to pet it. The dog jumped up and bit her on the lip. Everyone at the party saw what happened but instead of doing the right thing, they all testified that the plaintiff provoked the dog after being told to stay away. The jury did not believe this story, and awarded her accordingly.
Philadelphia County jury verdict. An Amazon delivery driver was walking back to his truck after making a delivery. Before he could climb back in, a dog ran from a neighbor’s house and started attacking the driver. The injury was to his left leg, requiring stitches.
Verdict against a landlord, which is not an easy thing to accomplish. A girl was badly attacked by an uninsured tenant’s dog. We went after the landlord since there was no other insurance to go after. In order to find a landlord responsible for a tenant’s dog causing injury (and the tenant has no renter’s insurance), we must prove that the landlord (1) knew the dog was on the property; (2) knew the dog was dangerous, and (3) failed to do anything about it, such as ordering the tenant to remove the dog OR evicting the tenant. The landlord tried to say that he had no idea that the dog was vicious, but testimony from a maintenance man who no longer worked for the landlord testified that the dog had attacked the landlord and the maintenance man himself. Finding this witness wasn’t easy, and it was solely his testimony that helped the jury find against the landlord.
Jury verdict in the amount of $375,000. A Philadelphia County woman went to her daughter’s house. The daughter’s house was next to a neighbor who owned a Rottweiler. The back yards of both homes were separated by a wooden fence, which was installed and owned by the dog owner. While the mother was in the backyard of her daughter’s house, the dog broke through the wooden fence with its snout, and was able to latch on to the mother’s hand, causing significant injuries resulting in surgery. The dog owner tried everything, from blaming the mother to denying that she was responsible for the fence. In the end, the jury disbelieved everything the dog owner was saying, found in favor of the plaintiff.
Case resolved through Alternative Dispute Resolution (“ADR”). A twenty-five year old male went to the dog owner’s home to do an insurance appraisal. It was arranged that he would arrive between 10 am and 11 am. When he arrived, he exited his vehicle and was immediately faced with a very angry Pit Bull. He tried to get back into his vehicle, but the dog literally dragged him by his leg out of the vehicle and onto his back, and proceeded to attack, causing very serious injuries to the leg and torso. The parties agreed to ADR in lieu of a jury trial. So instead of 3 days in court and significant court costs for both sides, the “trial” lasted 4 hours and was much less expensive. ADR is a great way to resolve certain disputes, and this case was perfect for this method.
This was a minor case with insignificant injuries. Fault of the dog owner was admitted, so it was just a matter of agreeing on compensation that everyone would be happy with. For 4 puncture wounds on the right forearm of a teenage boy, and less than $1,000.00 in medical bills, this was a fantastic result.
FedEx driver delivered a package to a customer. As he was walking towards his vehicle, he heard something coming from behind him. He turned-around to see that it was a German Shepard. Before he knew it, the dog had latched onto his right arm, dragging him to the ground. The dog owner was able to get the dog off, but not before the driver sustained a deep bite wound which required stitches and surgery. Case settled without the need for a lawsuit in the amount of $250,000.00.
Woman in her 50’s was walking back to her vehicle after attending an outside concert. As she got close to the parking lot, her leg went into a deep, perfectly shaped hole all the way up to her crotch. She had to be extracted by EMS personnel. The injury to her leg required skin grafting, a surgical procedure, and several follow-up visits for over 1 year. Property owner denied responsibility and after a lawsuit was filed and depositions completed, the case settled for $200,000.00, divided between the City of Philadelphia and an outside contractor.
Uber Eats driver approached the front door of his customer when suddenly and without warning, 2 Akitas ran out from a side door and attacked, causing the driver to suffer various wounds on his legs, torso and arms. He was taken by ambulance to the ER and eventually had plastic surgery. Case settled without litigation for the policy limits of $200,000.00.
5 year old was visiting her next-door neighbor, who owned a dog. The child had visited many times prior, but there was never an issue with this dog, until this particular day when the dog decided to attack her, causing her to lose the tip of her finger. Case settled after a lawsuit for the policy limits of $100,000.00.
Amazon delivery driver was walking to the front door of a house to drop-off a package. The owner was at the front door when her Pit Bull ran from the garage and attacked the driver, causing a very serious leg injury, which required stitches and plastic surgery. Case settled without the need for a lawsuit for the homeowner’s insurance policy limits of $100,000.00.
Two neighbors shared a fence dividing their yards. One day, the dog on the other side broke through the fence and attacked the neighbor who was sitting on her porch. There had been prior complaints about this dog being aggressive, but never had thre dog done this. The injuries to the client’s dominant hand were severe, and the homeowner’s insurance settled for the policy limits of $100,000.00.
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