Bitten by a dog who “lives vicariously through himself”.
By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: Two years ago, a woman from West Virginia visited a congressional office in Washington D.C. While awaiting her meeting, a staffer’s dog bit her finger.
Of course– as has become standard operating procedure in the United States of America, where justice reigns supreme– she is exercising her right to sue.
According to the action filed on January 2, she is suing the House of Representatives for $200,000 in response to physical and emotional harm.
According to the litigation, Elizabeth Crawford was en route to speak to Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA) in January of 2013. While waiting for her meeting, she dropped her pen. Upon bending down to pick it up, an unattended dog named “Who Dey” bit Crawford on her right index finger. The suit alleges that the dog was not current on its rabies vaccinations.
In the lawsuit, Crawford bemoans “severe and permanent bodily injuries and mental anguish.”
“She has incurred medical expenses attempting to cure herself of such injuries; and her normal, social and recreational activities have been curtailed,” it continues.
The plaintiff’s attorney, Benjamin Pelton, said the small dog drew blood and damaged a nerve in her hand. Of the amount of damages being sought, $26,000 are to cover medical expenses, which included subsequent surgery to straighten her tendon and rabies shots. The other $174,000 is compensation for “pain and suffering,” Pelton attested.
The legal action accuses the dog’s owner, who is a Chris Tudor, a staffer in Congressman McClintock’s office, of “negligence” for cultivating an “unsafe and hazardous condition” by bringing Who Dey to the office.
According to an entry posted on the national Humane Society’s Flickr page, Who Dey is a pint-sized black dog who “lives vicariously through himself” and “once challenged his own reflection to a staring contest. On the 4th day, he won.”
Crawford’s suit follows a formal claim for damages she sent the House counsel last July. “They made a ridiculously low settlement offer” in the realm of four figures, Pelton told The Washington Post.
His client’s rebuttal: a lawsuit, naturally.
You can view a photo of the object of Crawford’s ire, along with further anecdotes written on Who Dey’s behalf, here.