Paschal v. Shawcroft

Challenges

In February 2020, Mr. Paschal was casually having a conversation with Defendant.  During the conversation, Mr. Paschal placed his hand on a fence that was surrounding the property of the Shawcroft’s home.  After placing his hand on the fence, the Shawcroft’s dog jumped up and attacked the hand of Mr. Paschal.  The injuries sustained were severe and caused Mr. Paschal to be admitted to the emergency room to receive immediate care.  The incident caused Mr. Paschal to receive stitches throughout his hand, miss work for nearly a month, and have limited use of his right hand for months.

Solution

In order to demonstrate Strict Liability for the domestic animal, our team found previous records that showed the dog had a history of attacks.  Due to the history of aggressive behavior of the dog, our team argued that the owners should have controlled the dog when a visitor approached the home.  Our attorneys argued that Mr. Paschal was unaware of the previous history of attacks, a fact that should have been expressed to Mr. Paschal.  We retained experts to show the extent of the injuries and how they could affect Mr. Paschal for many years to come.  We used these facts to support our client’s case of a personal injury involving a dog bite.