Case details

Charging dog caused bicycle accident, bicyclist claimed

SUMMARY

$346504

Amount

Verdict-Plaintiff

Result type

Not present

Ruling
KEYWORDS
fracture, knee, tibial plateau
FACTS
On July 24, 2010, at approximately 7 p.m., plaintiff Caryn Wilks, 52, a journeyman electrician, was riding her bicycling on North Dommer Avenue in Walnut while walking her dog on a 15-foot leash. As she turned onto Diehl Street, an unleashed dog ran towards Wilks, causing her dog to jolt towards the other dog. As a result, Wilks let go of the leash and crashed her bicycle, causing a fracture of her right knee. Wilks sued the alleged owner of the dog, Tim Wallace, and the alleged owner of the property containing the dog, Yung Min Tuan. Wilks sued for negligence per se under the “leash law,” arguing that the unleashed dog caused the incident and her personal . The case was later amended to include Sam Foung and Yu Ying Chou, who Wallace alleged were the owners of the subject dog. Foung and his wife, Chou, owned a home three doors down from Wallace’s property that he rented from Tuan. Prior to trial, Wilks settled with Tuan for his insurance policy limits of $25,000, and Chou was ultimately dismissed from the case. Thus, the matter proceeded to trial against Wallace and Foung only. Wilks claimed that she thought the dog that ran towards her was a pit bull, and identified the yard where the dog came from as Wallace’s rental unit. Thus, she claimed Wallace violated the “leash law” since the dog was unleashed on public property, even though the dog never got closer than 50 feet to her. Wallace claimed that the subject dog was not his, since he owned a boxer. However, he testified that the charging dog belonged to Foung. Foung claimed the subject dog was not his, since he owned a golden retriever. He also noted that Wallace was the only witness to testify that the dog belong to him. However, Foung claimed that he did not see the incident. Wallace and Foung admitted to having their dogs play with each other and to watching over each other’s dog on occasion. Thus, Wilks’ counsel was allowed an instruction to the jury that Wallace was acting as an agent to Foung on the subject date, in that Wallace was watching Foung’s dog when it ran out., Wilks sustained a fracture to her right tibial plateau. She was subsequently taken by her mother to an emergency room, where Wilks underwent open reduction and internal fixation surgery. She then followed up with roughly five weeks of physical therapy, and had surgery to remove the hardware in March 2011. Wilks claimed that she was out of employment for one year prior to the accident and that she now finds it even more difficult to find work as an electrician due to her difficulty with kneeling, squatting and crawling. She also claimed she will eventually require a right knee replacement. Wilks’ past medical costs were stipulated at $53,104. She also sought recovery of $100,000 in future medical costs, $84,000 in past lost earnings, and $134,400 in future lost earnings, as well as an unspecified amount of damages for her past and future pain and suffering. Defense counsel did not seriously dispute the severity of Wilks’ alleged injury and damages.
COURT
Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Pasadena, CA

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