Genice Horta, 51 years old, received a 5.4 million USD award from a Los Angeles County Superior Court jury after a 10-day trial. The verdict came more than three years after Horta filed a lawsuit, alleging she was attacked by a dog from an animal shelter that had previously injured other individuals.

The incident occurred on 23/9/2020, when Horta was hired by an animal rescue organization, managed by the city of Los Angeles, to drive a Belgian Malinois named Maximus from the East Valley Animal Shelter to Arizona.

A shelter employee informed Horta that Maximus was "anxious when kenneled." Horta then gave the dog a treat containing trazodone, a common sedative for dogs. Maximus snatched the treat and lunged, biting Horta's right arm severely. According to the lawsuit, she underwent six surgeries, but her arm is now permanently damaged.

Belgian Malinois dogs are intelligent but can be quite aggressive. Photo: People

In court, the shelter employee testified that he had warned Horta not to approach the dog with snacks. He also stated that when the incident occurred, he attempted to restrain the dog with a cable wrapped around its neck.

However, Horta's legal team alleged that the shelter employee failed to control Maximus and did not warn her about the dog's dangerous nature. Previously, Maximus had bitten a teenager and a shelter employee, requiring their hospitalization. California state law mandates that city animal shelters must inform prospective adopters or transporters if a dog has bitten or severely injured someone.

Her lawyers also stated that the dog's shelter record noted it had "bitten and growled fiercely at people passing its kennel," and an employee had written a warning: "EXTREME CAUTION!!!" in its file. Despite this, they provided no warning to Horta, who was directly transporting it.

The court determined that the city of Los Angeles, which manages the shelter, bore 62.5% of the responsibility, the rescue group 25%, and Horta 12.5% for the incident.

This marks the third instance where an individual has won a lawsuit and received compensation after alleging that a Los Angeles animal rescue center failed to inform people about the dangers posed by certain dogs. The two previous individuals were awarded 3.25 million USD and 7.5 million USD, respectively. Both had adopted dogs from the rescue center and were severely bitten without prior warning from the facility.

Hai Thu (According to LA Daily News, People)