Woman Awarded $5.4 Million After Dog Attacked Her Animal Shelter

A Los Angeles woman who says she was brutally mauled by a dog at a city animal shelter has been awarded $5.4 million in damages after a jury found multiple parties responsible for the attack.

Genice Horta, 51, received the multimillion-dollar award from a Los Angeles County Superior Court jury following a 10-day trial, more than three years after she filed her lawsuit, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Horta alleged she was never properly warned about the dog’s violent history before the attack.

The incident happened on Sept. 23, 2020, when Horta was hired by the HIT Living Foundation to transport a Belgian Malinois named Maximus from the East Valley Animal Shelter in Van Nuys to Arizona. According to court filings, she was told the dog had “kennel anxiety.”

Horta said she offered Maximus a treat containing trazodone, a medication commonly used to calm anxious dogs. Moments later, she claims the dog lunged and clamped down on her right hand and arm.

The injuries were severe.

Horta underwent six surgeries to repair damage to bones and nerves in her arm and says she has permanent impairment as a result of the attack.

During the trial, a shelter employee testified that he warned Horta not to approach the dog with the treat. Video shown in court reportedly captured the employee attempting to restrain Maximus using a cable looped around his neck.

But Horta argued that she was never fully informed of the dog’s dangerous past. According to her lawsuit, Maximus had previously bitten a teenager and a shelter employee, sending both to the hospital.

California law requires city shelters to notify potential adopters or handlers if a dog has a history of biting or seriously injuring someone.

Court records also revealed that shelter staff had documented Maximus as “viciously biting and snapping at people walking past his enclosure.” One employee reportedly wrote “USE EXTREME CAUTION!!!” in internal notes about the dog.

Horta’s attorney said the case exposed what he described as preventable mistakes in failing to properly warn about the dog’s bite history and adequately control an animal known to be dangerous.

The jury ultimately found the city of Los Angeles 62.5 percent liable, the rescue group 25 percent liable and Horta herself 12.5 percent liable.

The verdict marks the third time in recent years that someone has secured a significant payout after alleging Los Angeles animal shelters failed to properly disclose a dog’s violent background.

In a previous case, a woman was awarded $3.25 million after being injured by a pit bull she adopted from a South Los Angeles shelter. In another, a woman received a $7.5 million settlement after being attacked by a dog her son adopted from a city shelter that had reportedly injured someone before.