Posted on 03/19/2007 9:28:04 AM PDT by Abathar
FLUSHING, Mich. - A nasty bite on the hand that a man got from his sister's Siamese cat is worth $122,400.
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A jury on Friday awarded Michael Sabo, 57, the money for an injury he got when the cat, Randy, bit his right hand in March 2004.
Sabo's fingers swelled so much that they looked like "plump hot dogs," his attorney, Tom Pabst, told The Flint Journal, and an infection put Sabo in a hospital for three weeks. He had to pay thousands in medical bills.
Pabst said Sabo's sister, Jean Toney, had warned people not to pick up Randy because he had bitten people before, but the newspaper said the cat leapt into Sabo's lap.
Sabo initially tried to get his sister's homeowner's insurance policy to cover the cost of treatment. When that request was refused, Sabo had no choice but to take the matter to court, Pabst said.
It sounds like he sued his sisters insurance company through his sister.
It don't work that way. If he had tried to sue his sister's insurance company the judge would have thrown it out of court. He did not have any right to sue her insurance company, he did not have a contract with them. He sued his sister.
And the homeowner insurance company had every right to let him take it to court. Her homeowners insurance policy did not provide $122,000 in health insurance coverage. For the insurance company to pay any damages, the sister would have to have somehow been negligent. The court determined her to be negligent and now the liability insurance company is obligated to pay.
The Cat came Back. Probably the only good cartoon ever to come out of Kanada.
Adorable! Are they yours? I have a black & tan and a dapple.
I don't know how high his medical bills were or whether he got paid time off when he was ill. But if he was in the hospital for three weeks and didn't get paid for being off work, he could have a lot of expenses to cover.
Agreed. If this lady knew this cat would bite, she should have gotten rid of it. At the very least, she should have confined it to a pet carrier when she had others in the house.
This guy should be a millionaire.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eht-kEzq88w
Maybe they had planned to split the insurance money, until they found out the insurance wouldn't pay.
Carolyn
Yup, those are the boys.
My wife was bit by one of our cats at the veterinarians. The vet cleaned and bandaged the bite. She went to work the next morning with a stiff hand. Four hours later she called me to come get her. Two hours later she was in the hospital, white as a sheet, with IV drips of industrial strength antibiotics, an arm the size of a leg, and a very, very worried hubby.
The villain turned out to be the bacteria whose fast deadly action was what caused Louis Pasteur to put together the idea of infections being caused by bacteria. Pre-WWII my wife would have died, or would have lost her arm.
This is scary stuff -- I have never seen an infection go so fast.
Why would she have her own insurance? She paid into her health insurance at her job. I don't recall all the details as this was at least 2O years ago. I was there and I saw it. I worked there also and I never was asked to sign a waiver. I wouldn't have either. I have worked in animal shelters where I didn't pay for my own injuries. They did. Thats why you pay into health insurance. If a vet/shelter didn't give the option of insurance or wanted me to sign a waiver of any kind I wouldn't work there. I don't know anyone who would work in a job where they could be seriously injured or maimed without the option of health care or be able to sue. I bred Dobermans & Akitas now I breed Shih tzu's and I would rather be bitten by a dog then a cat. She was seriously hurt, her face disfigured and you are asking me why she would sue? Would you not be sue if the insurance paid only so much and you became impaired ? Her muscle function in her face doesn't work properly. They can't fix it either. She is nowhere as pretty as she once was. I don't know if she sued the owner, I would tend to think not though. If I talk to her in the near future I will ask her.
I just thought that since it wasn't the vets fault that the cat attacked, that she shouldn't sue. But if it was just for medical bills, then I can understand it. It's not like the vet was negligent though.
The exact same thing happened to me. I had the IV drip. I could NOT even TOUCH my arm. My whole arm swelled up....I was in serious pain.
I have worked for good vets and vets I walked out within days on the job. This was a decent vet & a nice man. However he fired her after the lawsuit. So she went after him on that too. He was supposed to keep her job for her... She was out of work for a long time because of the infection. I don't work anymore in that field because I love animals too much to see some of the bs that goes on. I always have a zoo here. From birds, lizards, snakes & stray dogs & cats have passed through my doors(& one rat ewwww). I find them homes and I usually have to spend my money for their vet bills but at least I know they go to good homes. I still want a fainting goat but the town isn't going for that. My sister in law was also qualified to take in wild animals, raccoons,owls etc so she is an animal lover . She wasn't looking for any huge amount of money just to get her bills paid & the damage fixed. I know she was mad when she didn't have her job waiting for her. I would have been too. She believes he was able to hire someone to replace her at a lower wage. I would tend to agree as she was working for him for many years. I quit when she got hurt as I had little children at home. I just didn't want to work with cats after that. I love cats and have 4 of my own. Thankfully all are sweet. My Siamese is a rescue cat that was so abused when we got him that he couldn't shut his mouth. We spent quite a bit to get him healthy & I love him very much. Its so funny to see the 4 Shih tzu and the Pekingese/Shih tzu mix chase him. All 5 of them go running after him until he turns and you see 5 little dogs running for their lives.
My mother used to have a cat that must have bit me a hundred times. I need to sue to get my millions!
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