Jury Awards Woman $1,700 For Dog Bite

After deliberating for approximately two hours, a jury in Washington County, Arkansas came to the decision to award a woman from Fayetteville, Arkansas $1,705.35 in damages for the personal injuries she sustained from a dog bite four years ago.

That’s less than one-third of the $5,762 in medical bills accumulated by Beverly Lang during 25 visits to doctors and specialists over a four year period. She had also asked for $10,000 in damages for pain and suffering, among others.

According to Lang, on July 7, 2004, a dog bit her on her lower right leg while she was walking toward her car. She claims she was unable to walk for 10 days after the incident.

Lang and her husband, Billy Lang, were at the home of Robert and Ramona Wilkins in order to discuss the new home Wilkins Construction was building for them.

According to the Wilkins’, their three dogs were closed inside the master bedroom during the meeting because it was raining outside. Ramona Wilkins said that she left the meeting and went into the bedroom because “Ruby,” one of the basset hounds needed to urinate.

Before she could return and warn the others that she’d let the dog out, Lang had left the house.

Robert Wilkins said that he had offered to pay for Lang’s “reasonable” medical expenses and told jurors that he still expects to.

Lang claims that she paid seven visits to her family doctor because the wound was slower to heal than expected. She also visited specialists including an orthopedic doctor, a neurologist, and a therapist.