Renter Uninsured, Landlord Pays

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Thomas J. Newell, Esquire, a Pennsylvania personal injury who specializes in dog bite cases, announced that the has won a settlement for a dog bite victim from a landlords insurance company.

According to Newell, the dog attack victim had been sledding near her home when a neighbors pit bull jumped the fence and mauled her.

The young girl was bitten on her right arm and right leg and treated at an area hospital. Newell said, in addition to treatment for the injuries, the treating physician insisted that the victim undergo a series of rabies injections since the dog that attacked was not up to date on its shots.

Newell explains that he investigated the owner of the pit bull and found out that she was an uninsured renter. He then made a personal injury claim against the landlords insurance company.

In 2012, the Pennsylvania Superior Court had issued a ruling making it very difficult for Pennsylvania dog bite victims to recover against an out-of-possession landlord. Nonetheless, Newell says the judge was willing to entertain a legal theory from a case out of New Mexico to find that the landlord in this case would have some legal responsibility.

Ultimately, the landlords insurance company agreed to make a $15,000 settlement payment.

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