At the time of the attack, the dog was off-leash and his training collar was non-functional.(Credit: Nigmatulina Aleksandra/Shutterstock)
An elderly woman who was bitten by her neighbor’s dog has been awarded $4.2 million by a Georgia jury for her injuries.
According to case documents, in 2020 at the age of 82, Earnestine Shaw was walking with a friend near her residence when her neighbor's dog entered her property. Shaw’s neighbor Aaron Smith’s 130-pound presa canario mastiff, Drago, was reportedly left unsecured on Smith’s property when the dog noticed Shaw and made his way to her. Drago knocked Shaw to the ground, then bit her on the hand and thigh.
At the time, Drago was off-leash and his training collar was non-functional. Smith’s son witnessed the incident and admitted that the attack occurred on Shaw’s property. Smith was issued a citation for animal running at-large, which violated county ordinance.
Shaw went to the emergency room after the attack for her injuries to be evaluated. The lawsuit against Smith states that Shaw’s injuries included multiple lacerations to her hand that required sutures as well as a puncture wound to her thigh. Shaw developed an infection from the bites that resulted in a six-day admission to the hospital and the use of a wound vac for over a month. She also reportedly suffered injuries to her hip and left thigh as a result of the dog knocking her to the ground.
The case also notes, “The bite to Plaintiff’s thigh caused nerve damage, confirmed by an EMG study, which ultimately led to the development of “drop foot,” a condition in which a person loses the ability to keep the foot postured in an upright position while walking."
Her dropped foot eventually caused a fall that resulted in a broken leg.
According to The Daily Report, Smith’s insurer only offered to pay Shaw $150,000 for her pain and suffering, as well as any future medical expenses. However, after a five-day trial in the Clayton County State Court, a jury awarded Shaw $4.2 million, plus $89,794.53 in unliquidated interest.
The plaintiff’s counsel, Madeline N. Simmons, told The Daily Report that if the insurer had resolved this dispute in a timely manner, they would not have asked the jury for their requested $4.1 million.
"It's a good example that, even if an insurance company writes somebody off as too old and therefore not having value for future pain and suffering, or pain and suffering in general, a jury of Georgia citizens sees that people of all ages matter," Simmons told The Daily Report.
She also stated that this case is an example of where insurance reform is needed.
"It's a prime example of why we need insurance industry reform, because it's one that should've never had to go to trial. She had over $100,000 in medical bills, it was a $300,000 insurance policy, and basically because she was old, they said, 'pound sand,' up until the time of trial," Simmons said. "The jury saw right through that. They hired a defense expert to say all their issues were old age as well, but the jury saw right through that."
Fox 5 Atlanta also reported that Clayton County Prosecutor Kenneth Green admitted to mistakenly failing to notify Shaw when Smith appeared in court for his vicious dog and dog-at-large citations in late 2023. These charges against Smith were dropped due to a lack of witnesses and he was only required to pay a $100 fine.
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