My jurisdiction is: Florida
Several months ago (12/08) I was on the grass near my mailbox with my 8 month old German Shepherd puppy when a neighbor from one street over walked up behind me and startled the puppy who was concentrating more on "doing his business". The puppy swung me around and jumped up. I immediately yanked his leash and pulled him down. His nose made contact with her arm. She immediately yelled that the dog had bit her. I was shocked because I was standing right there and he did not bite her. About 30 minutes later Animal Control came to my door and said that the neighbor called them, he examined her, there was no bite, but that she had the right to cite me because the puppy did jump. He told me that he would give her two weeks to decide. During those two weeks she began calling me and telling me that her shoulder hurt and that, as an artist, she may never be able to do her art work again. After two weeks, the Animal Control officer called and said that he was going to come out to cite me but then discovered that she submitted an affidavit with pictures of a bloody wound. She claims that 4 hours after the officer examined her she was sipping a cup of tea and the wound opened. The officer dropped all charges and did not cite me. Now several months later she is filing a civil suit against me claiming that the dog leapt from 16 feet away, and mauled her for 3-4 minutes while I stood by and watched. She is claiming injury to her wrist and shoulder. She initially tried to go through my insurance company, but my policy for animal injuries is quite limited and she is suing for several hundred thousands of dollars.
This lawsuit has totally disrupted our family life. It has made me more stressed than I have ever been. This woman has gone door to door telling all of our neighbors her story and creating an extremely uncomfortable environment for myself and my family. I guess my question really is; Can she do this with no repercussions? Can someone just fraudulently accuse someone for money and get away with it? Do I have any rights regarding what she has done to our family?
Here are a few pieces of information that may be helpful:
-She has filed a claim for the same shoulder in 94',95' and 97
-When the insurance investigator interviewed her, the jacket that she showed the officer, which at the time he examined had no holes, now has a single hole. The investigator saw pencil marks along the lining near the hole.
-when her wound magically appeared, she went to the ER for a tetanus shot, but never mentioned that her shoulder hurt.
Any help/advice will be greatly appreciated! We do not meet with our insurance appointed lawyer for 2 more weeks and I feel like I'm going insane!
Several months ago (12/08) I was on the grass near my mailbox with my 8 month old German Shepherd puppy when a neighbor from one street over walked up behind me and startled the puppy who was concentrating more on "doing his business". The puppy swung me around and jumped up. I immediately yanked his leash and pulled him down. His nose made contact with her arm. She immediately yelled that the dog had bit her. I was shocked because I was standing right there and he did not bite her. About 30 minutes later Animal Control came to my door and said that the neighbor called them, he examined her, there was no bite, but that she had the right to cite me because the puppy did jump. He told me that he would give her two weeks to decide. During those two weeks she began calling me and telling me that her shoulder hurt and that, as an artist, she may never be able to do her art work again. After two weeks, the Animal Control officer called and said that he was going to come out to cite me but then discovered that she submitted an affidavit with pictures of a bloody wound. She claims that 4 hours after the officer examined her she was sipping a cup of tea and the wound opened. The officer dropped all charges and did not cite me. Now several months later she is filing a civil suit against me claiming that the dog leapt from 16 feet away, and mauled her for 3-4 minutes while I stood by and watched. She is claiming injury to her wrist and shoulder. She initially tried to go through my insurance company, but my policy for animal injuries is quite limited and she is suing for several hundred thousands of dollars.
This lawsuit has totally disrupted our family life. It has made me more stressed than I have ever been. This woman has gone door to door telling all of our neighbors her story and creating an extremely uncomfortable environment for myself and my family. I guess my question really is; Can she do this with no repercussions? Can someone just fraudulently accuse someone for money and get away with it? Do I have any rights regarding what she has done to our family?
Here are a few pieces of information that may be helpful:
-She has filed a claim for the same shoulder in 94',95' and 97
-When the insurance investigator interviewed her, the jacket that she showed the officer, which at the time he examined had no holes, now has a single hole. The investigator saw pencil marks along the lining near the hole.
-when her wound magically appeared, she went to the ER for a tetanus shot, but never mentioned that her shoulder hurt.
Any help/advice will be greatly appreciated! We do not meet with our insurance appointed lawyer for 2 more weeks and I feel like I'm going insane!
