$495,000 Settlement for New Jersey Woman Mauled by a Pit Bull

Victim Awarded Half Million Dollars
Newark, NJ - The law firm of Starr Gern reports that a client was awarded half a million dollars after a vicious pit bull attack in September of 2005. At the time of the attack, the victim was holding her small grandchild in her arms. She saved her grandchild and endured the attack herself. The pit bull sunk its teeth into the victim's leg for 15-20 minutes. It took beating the dog with a shovel to get the animal to release.

"On the day of the attack, the plaintiff, a former social worker, was at the home of the defendants attending a backyard barbecue and family gathering. The dog approached the victim while she was holding her 1-month old granddaughter. In order to protect her granddaughter from the dog, she turned to the right at which point the dog jumped onto her right hip with both front paws, scratching the granddaughter's left lower leg. As she continued to raise her granddaughter over her head as high as possible, the dog bit into her right leg between the calf and the ankle, and locked its jaws on her leg. The dog sunk its teeth into the plaintiff's leg for approximately 15 to 20 minutes, during which time she went into shock and struggled to remain afoot, in order to avoid being further mangled. She was able to hand off her granddaughter to another relative, after which the dog was struck with a shovel so that it would release her leg."

Instances of "shovels" being used to stop pit bull attacks produces the result of 23 stories on DogsBite.og.

Related articles:
11/08/08: Paula Ybarra, Dog Attack Victim, Wins Settlement from Minneapolis
08/31/08: Dog Attack Victim Lawsuits and Settlement Awards
06/11/08: Pit Bull Victim Alan Hill Awarded $7.25 Million Dollars