$450,000

 On June 21, 2020, our client, who was only three (3) years old, was with his parents at a relative’s house for a summer party. At approximately 8:00 p.m., a dog (chow/lab mix) owned by the homeowners viciously and brutally attacked the little boy, pinning him to the ground and repeatedly biting his face. The dog had to be forcibly pulled off the little boy by his mother, but sadly, the damage was done. As a direct result of this attack, our client suffered multiple, severe facial lacerations that resulted in surgical intervention at Oishei Children’s Hospital. He was also subsequently hospitalized due to an infection from the bites. Unfortunately, it is likely that our client will require scar revision surgery in the future to attempt to decrease the prominence of several scars on his face resulting from the attack.

Just days after the attack occurred, our client’s father called our firm at 4:30am in the morning. To his surprise, the call was answered by attorney John Richmond (“John”). John was sitting in their living room just hours later, was retained by the family, and immediately started investigating the case. First, John was successful in convincing the Amherst Town Court that the dog should be deemed “dangerous” pursuant to § 123 of the New York State Agriculture and Markets Law. Following this determination, John and the family waited one year to assess the permanency of the scarring. In the summer of 2021, John attempted to negotiate in good faith with the insurance company, who ultimately refused to offer a settlement to the little boy for his serious and permanent injuries. In response, John quickly filed a lawsuit against the dog owners, and aggressively prosecuted the case. The prosecution involved extensive paper discovery, several depositions, and many court appearances. The insurance company offered a mere $50,000 halfway through the litigation, but John and the family quickly declined the offer.

In December 2023, after multiple failed mediations, the insurance company finally agreed to settle the case for $450,000 in present-day money. Ultimately, the settlement was offered as a result of John and his team’s aggressive approach and extensive investigation that produced a witness who testified that the dog had bitten him approximately ten years earlier when the dog owners lived in Florida. The little boy’s settlement money was put into an annuity, set to pay him $1,700,000 when he is an adult.