GALVESTON - Claiming his neighbors' dog attacked him last September, Galveston resident Jack Kaufman has filed a lawsuit.
Darren and Heidi Seigel's yellow Labrador retriever assaulted Kaufman on Sept. 17, 2011, as he was jogging in the Lafitte's Cove subdivision, a lawsuit filed Jan. 18 in Galveston County District Court alleges.
According to the original petition, the dog bit the plaintiff, tore his skin and caused "severe" wounds to his legs.
Kaufman says he was unable to walk and had to undergo emergency treatment at the University of Texas Medical Branch.
"As a direct and proximate result of the dog bite, plaintiff Jack Kaufman sustained serious and permanent physical injuries," the suit states.
The suit alleges "this particular dog has exhibited dangerous propensities abnormal to its class, and it had previously attacked and caused injuries to other individuals."
"The defendants knew or had reason to know the dog had dangerous propensities because (the) defendants knew of the prior attacks," the suit says.
The plaintiff blames the Seigels for failing to control the dog, failing to get rid of it, failing to get proper training and failing to warn their neighbors about its supposed viciousness.
Consequently, Kaufman seeks unspecified monetary damages and a jury trial.
He is represented by attorney David P. Wilson of Beaumont.
The case has been assigned to Galveston County 56th District Court Judge Lonnie Cox.
Case No. 12-cv-0060
Galveston man sues over dog attack
ORGANIZATIONS IN THIS STORY