Pavia: Bitten in the arm by her friends’ pitbull, condemned to compensate her with 50 thousand euros

A 48-year-old woman obtained compensation of 50 thousand euros from friends who owned the dog which, during a dinner, pounced on her, biting her arm.

Bitten in the arm by a friend’s pitbull

A dinner with friends at their house in Pavia in October 2020 it transformed into a dramatic accident for a 48 year old womanwhich it was bitten in the right arm by her friends’ pitbull. An episode that profoundly marked the 48-year-old’s life, causing her a long rehabilitation period and permanent damage.

Condemned to compensate her with 50 thousand euros

The judge’s sentence Raffaella Filoni concluded the story, condemning the victim’s friends, dog owners and caretakers, al payment of compensation of 50 thousand euros. The judge clarified that the responsibility of the owners of the animal is not based on fault, but on the de facto relationship with the animal, thus making the owner responsible for damage caused to third partiesunless it demonstrates fortuitous circumstances, i.e. an unforeseeable event.

The defence

The dog owners’ defense argued that the attack was triggered by a sudden movement and the raising of his voice by the victim. However, the judge rejected this reconstruction, holding that has not been proven in court.

The victim, assisted by the lawyers Marinella Bracci and Elena Pons, told a different version of the facts, explaining that it was attacked by the pit bull while she was calmly sitting on a chair around the kitchen table.

The Eboli tragedy

This sentence not only offers justice to the victim, but highlights the importance of pet owners’ responsibility in preventing accidents similar. Especially after the tragedy that occurred on the morning of Monday 22 April 2024 in Eboli, in the province of Salerno, where a 13-month-old boy, Francesco Pio D’Amaro, was attacked and killed by two pit bullswho were in the garden with him.