Case Studies

Karl Protil and Mike Nakamura recently settled a case involving a dog bite. Our client was a friend and neighbor of the Defendant; the Defendant was out of town and was running late on the day of his return. Our client agreed to feed and let his dog out, an older German Shepherd.  After feeding and being let out and back in, the dog bit off a portion of our client’s nose.  He underwent 20 plus plastic reconstructive surgeries to repair his nose and appearance, a number of which were unsuccessful.

Subsequent information surfaced that prior to this incident, the dog’s behavior had become more unpredictable in the recent past and had either bitten or attempted to bite a family member.  This information was not provided to our client when he agreed to care for the dog. The parties engaged in pre-suit mediation and resolved the case, awarding our client a settlement of $795,000.