Law Suit - Want your Opinion
 

Hello! Please share your opinion:
A lawyer friend has asked for help in evaluating the value of a case involving a pit bull.

The facts are: A heavy-set woman in her mid 30's was walking on a sidewalk when an APBT (breed not in question) ran through its front gate and bit the woman on her lower leg, causing puncture wounds requiring a few stiches. There will be scarring, but no permanent impairment.

However, she was 8 weeks pregnant at the time of the attack/bite and miscarried a few days after the bite attack. At the time of the bite attack, she did become extremely upset, dizzy, etc and was taken to the hospital. She miscarried a few days later.

She had experienced some problems with her pregnancy the week before the attack/bite. Her doctor ran tests and the fetus was alive.

Questions to this Forum, (put yourself on the jury):
1. Do you think the emotional trauma of the attack/bite was more likely than not a cause of the miscarriage?
2. If you do believe it is the cause, how much money would you award her for emotional pain?

Thank you very much!

a lot of things can cause a miscarriage. It could have been her own body rejecting the pregnancy, there could have been something wrong with the baby, it could have been stress/emotional trauma. It would be hard to prove that the dog bite may have caused it or not, especially since she has having troubles a week earlier. In the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, miscarriages are surprisingly common.

She'll probably recover for emotional damages, and medical expenses incurred, but as stated it would be hard to prove the attack caused the miscarriage.

i would say look her medical records prior to the attack. see how healthy she was and if she was able to carry a baby to full term. like said previously serveral things can cause a miscarrage.

she was heavyset and in her mid 30s those alone can cause difficulties with pregnancy

I believe that the miscarriage had little to nothing to do with the attack, since she was clearly unhealthy (by the tests the doc. did to make sure the baby was still alive), there are many ways a miscarriage can occur, but days later makes it very unlikely the attack had anything to do with it. I would look over the medical records as to what they administered when she was at the hospital, how long she was there and such. That said, there are emotional scars and damages because of the attack, I would say she deserves money for her medical and a councilor, but not anything for loss of child, unless she was in the hospital from the attack until the miscarriage occurred and the medical records indicate the danger upon arrival to the hospital of the baby's life because of the attack not because of anything that happened after. I feel sorry for the woman but if the attack did not make the miscarriage happen then it should not be payed for. My dad is a lawyer so I donno if hearing many cases over the years has made me analyze stuff better or not, but that is my two cents.

The owner of that dog should incur any medical cost that the victim recieved from that bite.

I agree, all medical bills should be taken care of by the dog's owner. I would have a hard time awarding emotional damages, since unless it's proven that the bite caused the miscarriage, she could have lost the baby anyway. I also have a hard time seeing people sue for any little reason these days, but that's just me. It's hard to say since we aren't doctors if the bite caused the miscarriage. It may be a factor since it caused stress and injury to the woman, BUT she was also having problems beforehand with her pregnancy by the sounds of things.

May I ask how the dog is absolutely known to be an APBT?

1st post since joining in 2008 seems suspect to me

Hold the phone, this "lawyer" wants the medical opinion of the members of pit bull chat?

From my experience and knowledge the bite shouldnt have effected a miscarriage. My foster dog back in march jumped straight on my tummy, I was 2 months along and I had bleeding for a couple days...but urm...baby due here in a few weeks! While yes, stress can bring on miscarriages, Ive been under a lot of stress over the months and haven't had a problem. Miscarriages are usually due to something being wrong such as doesn't attach right to the uterus, cells not lining up correct, yes, blunt trauma But...it was her leg. Unless she got some major blood infection or something...but for it to happen a few days later was more just bad timing then anything IMO

That's what I was thinking. Even in a trial, the jury wouldn't be asked to decide that. They'd have doctors on the stand giving their professional opinion & the jury would go off of that.

Thanks to folks who are responding to my query...it IS helpful to see how a GENERAL population reacts to the facts (i.e. "a jury"), and that helps determine if cases settle before a trial or actually go to trial. That is the stage the this case is at, and my attorney friend is asking a lot of people for their reactions. This group is a unique population because it is NOT biased against the dog - whose breed is going to be pumped up if at trial.

To the skeptics:
Of course medical experts give their testimony, but it is up to jury to determine what is relevant. So to clarify: you aren't being asked for your medical opinion, you're being ask for your reaction to the facts and how you would decide.

(as to the poster questioning this being my first post since joining: i have never had anything to talk about before this. I am sure you aren't holding that against me. This seems like a reasonable group.)

Thank you again for weighing in, the responses are interesting and helpful!

I would say if I were on a jury I would rely heavily on the expert medical testimony to form an opinion as to the liklihood that there was a connection between the bite and the miscarriage.

Without proof that there is reasonable certainty that one caused the other; then the dog owner should pay for all medical bills associated with the actual bite and I imagine some "pain and suffering" will be awarded.

(years ago I was rear-ended in a small fender-bender. Imagine my surprise when the other parties insurance company showed up on my porch with a $500 check for "pain and suffering" )

Eh. This is a tough one. Everyone knows high levels of stress can cause a miscarriage & I would most defintely put any dog bite, but especially a pit bull bite in the high stress category, esp. for the average person who does not know the breed!

I would tell the lawyer to go on her prior medical records. What exams were done previously & why? Has she been pregnant before? If so did she carry the baby to term & were there complications in the previous pregnancies? Has she has any previous miscarriages?

Her medical records will be the deciding factor here. But IMO the bite for sure could be a contributing factor.

So what happened to the dog? I hope it was PTS. http://www.pitbull-chat.com/images/smilies/frown.png

Blessings ...

Your lawyer friend wants to know the opinion of the general public to help him determine what the jury may think in this case?

For one, I think your lawyer is smart enough to know that the opinions of people on a pit bull forum are not going to be the same as others in reaction to case about a pit bull bite. I don't see how asking people who aren't bias is going to help you. And two, I very highly doubt there will be a jury at all in this case. It is probably just going to be presented to a judge.

She will get the monies involved. If the defence points out that she had problems prior to the bite the jury will see this as character assasination. She has a good case, prior gestational problems or not. Simply put, the dog shouldn't have bit her.

Even if she had health problems before the attack, the stress of the attack may still have played a part in the miscarriage of her child. If it was already a high-risk pregnancy, then small little triggers could set off a miscarriage including the stress caused by a dog attack.

It would be difficult if not impossible, however, to prove that the dog attack had a direct correlation to the miscarriage though even given the medical history up to that point. I am sure past medical history will come into play as well (previous miscarriages, live births, etc.)

Haha exactly were not the general public we are pitbull enthusiasts.

Would be great though if we could decide all pitbull lawsuits.

No smart lawyer goes to a jury with a pitbull case, they are losing cases. We were sued in 1986 because our meter reader cut herself on the gate and there was a pitbull present ( dog never touched the lady). Didn't matter, the insurance company settled and dropped us.

I personally do not care what the breed of the dog was, it left its own property and bit someone....
the dog owner should be responsible for all expenses related to treating the dog bite.... and only the dog bite...
the miscarriage has nothing to do with the dog bite...
and the dog should be put down....

A case like this would almost never even make in the court room, it would be settled between lawyers and parties out of court. And a judge would sign off. Or if it went to court it would not be a jury trial. A judge would decide the ruling.

The dog owner is only responsible for paying for the damages (medical bills) regarding the bite. There is no way to prove the "attack" caused the miscarriage.