A well-known plaintiffs’ attorney in the Philadelphia region is getting an expensive lesson in becoming the target of civil litigation.
Personal injury attorney Dean Weitzman, aka “MyPhillyLawyer,” and his wife are on the hook for a more than $3.1 million verdict in a case involving the family dog. A woman filed suit against Weitzman last January claiming she suffered physical and emotional damages after trying to flee from the family’s allegedly aggressive dog.
The complaint states that the woman was walking in the neighborhood when she saw the dog attacking a neighbor’s golden retriever. According to the plaintiff, Weitzman’s wife was trying to calm the dog down when the animal turned to the plaintiff and took an “aggressive, charging and predatory stance.” In attempting to flee, the plaintiff tripped and fell which resulted in a knee injury and broken foot. The plaintiff additionally claimed to have developed regional pain syndrome and emotional damages.
Weitzman denied the allegations and argued the plaintiff was comparatively negligent. The case ended in the plaintiff’s favor with $240,000 in past damages and $2.9 million in future damages awarded. (Talk about a case of the tables turning – it’s not as much fun when your dog is the one doing the biting, as it is to sue someone else whose dog attacks – something the “Philadelphia Dog Attack Attorney” advertises on his website!!
You can read more about the case in this article by The Legal Intelligencer.