The Law Office of Patrick Patel is thrilled to announce a six-figure settlement in favor of a client who had been viciously attacked by a pit bull in March of 2021. While we strive for excellence in every file, cases such as this are all the more satisfying when we are able to help innocent victims, and when we are able to achieve excellent results in difficult cases.

The facts of case are difficult to digest and are too graphic for discussion here. The victim, an elderly woman, was mauled when a vicious pit bull who lived at a neighboring home pushed through a chain link fence and attacked the Plaintiff totally unprovoked. Her injuries were extreme in nature, hospitalizing the Plaintiff and requiring multiple surgeries to help remedy, of which she has permanent residuals.

In New Jersey, liability is strictly imposed on the owners of dogs for dog bite injuries. However, this is where the difficulty in this case exists. Unfortunately for the innocent victim here, the owners of the vicious animal were tenants renting the home, and were uninsured and insolvent. Collecting any judgment from these individuals would be an impossibility. However, with the case in the hands of Partner, Joe Siclari, Esq., an investigation was launched, hiring investigators and deposing many neighbors in the area who all told the story of how the animal was known to have vicious propensities. Engineers were consulted to examine the defective fence utilized to try to contain the animal, and medical professionals were retained to opine on the nature, severity, and permanence of the Plaintiff’s injuries. The Law Office of Patrick Patel was able to uncover a scenario where the owner of the property knew/should have known that the dog posed a threat to the safety of the public, and that the property was defective to contain it.

Ultimately, the culmination of the hard work put in yields significant settlement in favor of the Plaintiff and a result we are extremely proud of.