$202,500 Settlement - Dog Bite - Eye Injury to Child

In June, 2008, eight year old Joseph was playing at an apartment complex in New London. Within the yard was a neighbor's pit bull that Joseph knew and had petted before. Unfortunately for Joseph, on this particular date, the dog was in no mood to be petted. The dog abruptly lurched at him, biting and severing the tear duct of his right eye. Joseph was rushed to the emergency room and later underwent two surgeries. The ocular plastic surgeon at Yale New Haven Hospital did phenomenal work and the tear duct returned to nearly complete functioning.

It was clear under the law that the dog owner was responsible to Joseph. The issue was whether there was any insurance coverage available to Joseph to fairly compensate him for his injury. Because the dog owner did not own a home, she did not have a homeowner's insurance policy. Attorney Kara M. Crismale's persistent and insightful investigative work however let to the discovery of a renter's insurance policy that was applicable to the incident. The case settled in February 2010 for $202.500.00.