Attacked by a Vicious Rottweiler
Our client, a Staten Island Russian immigrant, was attacked by a vicious Rottweiler outside of his home. As a result of the attack, he was unable to return to work as a manual laborer and had to undergo stitching to his wrist and later, arthroscopic surgery to his shoulder. The defendant contended that there was no evidence that the Rottweiler had exhibited violent propensities, and that the attack was provoked by the plaintiff's animal.
Wingate, Russotti, Shapiro, Moses & Halperin, LLP was able to prove that the defendant's dog had violent propensities. Specifically, the firm found and subpoenaed a witness who was aggressively approached by the defendant's dog earlier the same day and obtained her testimony. Our position was that this prior interaction on the same day our client was attacked showed that the defendant's dog did in fact have violent propensities. Under the circumstances, the defendant chose to settle the case rather than find out whether a Staten Island jury would hold the dog owner liable.