RAHWAY, NJ — On Feb. 28, 2020, Rahway resident Jane Martin was attacked by a neighbor’s dog. The dog, a large rottweiler, escaped his owner’s yard when a part of the fence separating the two properties collapsed. Martin was on her front porch. The dog bit and held her arm, dragging her down the steps and across her driveway. A passerby intervened. According to a press release from the victim’s attorney, when medical help arrived, Martin had no right radial pulse.
The damage to the arteries, veins and tendons of Martin’s hand and lower arm was too extensive for doctors to restore mobility or anything but minimal sensation. Despite 11 surgeries and months of physical therapy, Martin can no longer use her right hand. She suffers from chronic pain, the treatment of which required the surgical implantation of a spinal cord stimulator.
Howard P. Lesnik, Martin’s attorney, said that, “New Jersey has a ‘strict liability’ statute, which holds dog owners liable for any injury damages that result when their dog bites a person, provided that the victim was either on public property, or legally on private property when the bite incident occurred. … As Martin was bitten on her own property, the strict liability standard applies. …
“In this case, the rottweiler’s owner had taken the precaution of erecting a fence on his property line — which is why Greatescapes Contractors, the company that installed the fence, and its principal, Anthony Pardo, were also named in the lawsuit.”
Martin’s neighbor’s homeowner’s insurance policy capped out at $300,000. Greatescapes and Pardo, in a settlement reached on June 7, agreed to pay an additional $750,000, bringing the full value of Martin’s settlement to $1,050,000.
Photo Courtesy of Howard P. Lesnik