On Feb. 9, 2003, plaintiff Patti Adler, 52, unemployed, was riding her bicycle in a Miami residential neighborhood when two large Great Danes owned by Angela Antonick escaped from her residence by digging a hole under the fence, and then attacked Adler. Adler tried to escape by climbing a tree but she was dragged down by the dogs. Two passing motorists stopped their cars and honked their horns in an effort to frighten the dogs away from further attack. Adler was airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital.Adler sued Antonick for liability and the owner of the home, Rose Filmore, under a premises liability theory.Plaintiffs’ counsel claimed Antonick’s fence was poorly maintained and was often breached by the dogs. Testimony was presented of Antonick’s neighbors who stated they witnessed the dogs wander the neighborhood on several occasions.
Plaintiff’s counsel alleged that the dogs were not given food or water for more than a month and that caused them to become ravenous and prone to attack, and Antonick didn’t monitor them.
Plaintiff’s counsel alleged that the combination of a known breached fence and ill-fed dogs created a foreseeable zone of risk.
The defendants failed to appear in court.
Adler was mauled by the two dogs. She suffered bite wounds all over her body including open wounds to her shoulder, forehead, scalp and buttocks. She had a distal radius fracture to her right wrist. She had 300 stitches to her skull and had surgery to clean out her wounds, resulting in a hospital stay of four days. Adler had a homecare attendant for about a month.
Adler did not have health insurance and incurred past medical bills of $24,926.61. Thomas Zaydon, a plastic surgeon whose records were used at trial, said Adler will have permanent scarring and disfigurement regardless of any future reconstructive surgeries performed. Zaydon opined that even at a conservative estimate Adler would have medical bills approaching $100,000 for future reconstructive surgery and multiple hospitalizations.
Judge Jon Gordon found Antonick liable for the dog attack and awarded damages of $1.9 million. Gordon declined to assess damages against Filmore because the dogs were not on the property at the time of the attack and she did not actually own the dogs.
Defense counsel for Antonick is appealing the decision.