Trial Magazine

Jennifer Reid agreed to pet-sit for her neighbors, Kevin and Kim Burdorf, who owned an 80-pound German Shepherd and Chow Chow mix. She had watched the dog previously without incident.

During a visit to the house, Reid sat down in a chair for several minutes. When she stood up to prepare to take the dog for a walk, he jumped up on her, knocking her backward into the chair, and bit her face. The dog continued standing on her until she punched and kicked him away.

Reid, 39, was taken to a hospital emergency room, where she received sutures to close a three-inch laceration on her chin. In the days after the incident, she developed pain in her lower back, radiating into her legs. Several months after the incident, she was diagnosed with herniated disks at L4-S1 with radiculopathy. When conservative treatment—including steroid injections and physical therapy—failed to alleviate her pain, she underwent a laminectomy and fusion with placement of interbody cages and screws. Later, she developed adjacent disk disease at L3-4.

Reid now suffers from chronic lower back pain and a restricted range of motion that makes it difficult for her to bend or lift heavy objects. She will likely require additional disk surgery. She is also self-conscious about her facial scar.

Reid and her husband sued Kevin Burdorf and the estate of Kim Burdorf, who died about a month after the incident. The plaintiffs alleged liability under New Jersey’s dog bite statute, which imposes liability on a dog’s owner when the person bitten was on public property or was legally on the premises at the time. The plaintiffs also asserted a premises liability theory, arguing that the dog posed a hazard and that the Burdorfs failed to warn that he had previously attacked two other people.

The defendants admitted liability, and the case proceeded on damages. The plaintiffs did not claim economic damages. Before trial, the plaintiffs filed an offer of judgment for $385,000. The defendants’ final offer was $200,000, which the plaintiffs rejected.

At trial, the defendants argued that Reid’s alleged spinal injuries were not related to the incident. The plaintiffs countered that Reid had never before complained of back problems.

The jury found that the attack caused Reid’s facial scarring but not her spinal injuries, and it awarded $100,000.

The plaintiffs moved for a new trial on proximate cause and damages for Reid’s spinal injuries, arguing that the trial court had failed to give a jury charge relating to preexisting conditions. The trial court granted the motion for a new trial on the spinal issues. The $100,000 verdict for Reid’s scarring was permitted to stand.

After the new trial was granted, the plaintiffs renewed their offer of judgment for $385,000—offering to settle for an additional $285,000 beyond the prior $100,000 jury verdict. The defendants made no offer of settlement beyond the $100,000 that the jury had already awarded.

The case went to trial, and the jury found that the dog attack had caused the plaintiff’s spinal injuries. The jury awarded $850,000, including $750,000 to Reid for her spinal injuries and $100,000 to her husband for loss of consortium. Combined with the prior verdict, the total judgment is $950,000.

Citation: Reid v. Burdorf, No. MRS-L-2847-13 (N.J. Super. Ct. Morris Cnty. Feb. 21, 2017).

Plaintiff counsel: AAJ member Andrew A. Fraser and William B. Thayer, both of Sparta, N.J.

Plaintiff experts: David Basch, orthopedic surgery, and Richard Snellings, radiology, both of Sparta.

Defense expert: Francis De Luca, orthopedic surgery, Warren, N.J.