A Pierce County jury Friday awarded $2.2 million in damages to a Gig Harbor woman who was mauled by two pit bulls that entered her home through an open sliding-glass door four years ago.
The bulk of the judgment will be split between the owners of one of the pit bulls and Pierce County.
The jury found Shellie Wilson and her son, Zachary Martin, 52 percent liable for the injuries and property damage suffered by Sue Gorman during the mauling.
Martin owned one of the animals, named Betty, that attacked Gorman, and he and his mother were looking after the other, named Tank. They’ll have to pay about $1.1 million to Gorman.
Jurors assigned 42 percent of the blame to Pierce County, which will have to pay about $924,000.
Gorman’s attorneys – Michael McKasy and Shelly Speir – argued during trial that county animal control was negligent for not taking action against Wilson and Martin despite having received numerous complaints about their dogs running loose and terrorizing people.
Gorman filed two complaints about her neighbors’ dogs in the months before the attack on Aug. 21, 2007.
The jury assigned 5 percent of the blame for the attack to Jacqueline Evans-Hubbard, who left Tank in the care of Wilson and Martin when she went out of town.
Jurors said Gorman was 1 percent to blame.
McKasy, who talked to jurors after the verdict, said they expressed particular concern that county animal control did not do more to address neighbors’ complaints about Martin and Wilson’s animals.
“They had 14 complaints,” he said. “The dog (Betty) could have and should have been confiscated.”
Efforts to reach county officials for comment were unsuccessful Friday, as were attempts to reach Wilson and Martin and their attorney.
The county’s attorney, Ron Williams, argued during trial that Wilson and Martin were to blame for Gorman’s injuries for not keeping Betty and Tank under control and confined to their property.
Gorman was mauled after awakening to find Betty and Tank in her bedroom attacking her service dog and a neighbor’s Jack Russell terrier.
She had left her sliding-glass door opened so Misty and Romeo could come and go from her house.
She was mauled when she tried to pull the pit bulls off the other dogs. Romeo, the Jack Russell terrier, died in the attack, and the two pit bulls later were put down after their owners surrendered them to animal control. Misty survived.
Gorman suffered bites to her arms, face, neck, chest and nose and was hospitalized briefly after the attack.
It’s unclear how the pit bulls escaped Wilson’s and Martin’s house that morning.
Adam Lynn: 253-597-8644
adam.lynn@thenewstribune.com
blog.thenewstribune.com/crime
JOIN THE DISCUSSION | Register here
We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service. If you have any questions, including why your comment may not be showing immediately after you submit it, be sure to visit the commenting FAQ.