San Diego Personal Injury Attorney Blog

Clarification Of Pet Owners’ Liability Under California Law

California Civil Code 4432 states that dog owners are responsible for any injuries to victims in the event of a dog attack in public.  Most people believe that a dog must have shown previous signs of viciousness or aggression in order to be charged with a crime or slapped with a civil suit, but this is certainly not the case. According to Aaron Moore, contributor at ANewsCafe.com, the owner is not only responsible in the event of a dog bite, but “any injuries caused by their dog, whether as a result of a bite or some other action.”  Dog owners must be careful if they have a large or aggressive dog, even if they are generally friendly and playful in nature.  If your dog simply knocks someone over, you can still be held responsible for the ensuing injuries. The bottom line is that the actions of a dog are the…
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Three Killed in California Truck Accident

Three people were killed in a tragic car accident in the Woodland are in California on August 8, according to The Sacramento Bee.  According to police reports, a commercial truck was traveling at an unsafe speed while the rest of traffic was slowing entering a construction zone.  Five vehicles caught fire and two adults and one child were killed in the ensuing crash. The truck had merged into the left lane as traffic was slowing and “struck several slowing moving and/or stopped vehicles” according to reports.  The names of those killed were not released, although the report described them as a 53-year-old man, a 49-year-old woman and a 2-year-old girl who was in a separate vehicle than the other couple. The driver of the truck was identified as a 38-year-old man from Elf Grove.  He was transported to a nearby hospital and his condition was said to be very serious….
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Woman Awarded $2.2 Million For Dog Bite Injury

A woman was awarded a judgment in Washington after a jury found Pierce County to be partly responsible for injuries she suffered in a dog attack, according to UPI.com. The woman and her family were awarded $2.2 million dollars in damages for the attack, which occurred four years ago.  A neighbor’s pit bull entered her house through an open patio door and Sue Gorman.  According to the News Tribune in Tacoma, the jury determined that the dog owners were 52% responsible for the attack, Pierce County was 42% responsible and Gorman was 1% responsible. Gorman suffered the injuries while trying to pull the pit bull off her two Jack Russell terriers in her home.  The jury determined that the county should have taken action on the more than two dozen complaints from neighbors about the vicious nature of the dog. This goes to show that officials need to take complaints…
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