Long Key, FL Personal Injury Law Firms & Lawyers

You can defend against the claim. A lawyer would need to review the precise facts with you, to see what kind of defenses are likely to succeed. You can say the woman was careless in intervening. (If so, I hope your dog was pretty small.) Or that the damages she claims are unrealistic. See a lawyer, and notify your insurance company if your insurance covers this kind of thing. Good Luck.

Call the insurance company. Before you discuss the facts of the case, which may go into a statement that the plaintiff can later access, ask them to determine whether they will pay for your defense. Normally they would supply a lawyer but they may invoke a clause that says that if you don't timely advise them of a claim they don't need to cover it. If they don't provide a lawyer you should consult one at your expense ASAP. Even if they do you may want your own lawyer to guard against the risk that the insurance company does not settle and an award is entered for more than policy limits, as this could then be collectible from you instead of from insurance proceeds.

It appears that you do have a valid claim and a cause of action for a civil law suit. And yes, you can take your sister to court yourself. You can also perform a surgery to remove your appendix yourself, but would you? If you think that the court action against your sister will be any simpler (or any less painful), you are very much mistaken. There is a old saying among lawyers: "The attorney who represents himself has a fool for a client." If that is true, what can be said about a person who represents himself as a plaintiff in a civil lawsuit - without the disadvantages of legal education, training, and experience?