EAST HARTFORD, Conn., Jan. 13 (UPI) -- A former East Hartford, Conn., mail carrier has sued the owner of a German Shepherd that broke through a door and bit her after she delivered the mail.
In the suit, filed Monday in Hartford Superior Court, Felicia Powell, the former U.S. Postal Service mail carrier, says she suffered bites to her inner and outer left thigh and "severe fright, terror and emotional distress" after the dog jumped through a front screen door, chased her and bit her Aug. 26, 2010, The Hartford Courant reported.
The suit says the attack was a "contributing factor" in Powell's decision to resign from her job.
Powell, who now lives in Fall River, Mass., says she has incurred medical expenses and lost wages and that the attack will affect her future earning capacity.
The suit says the dog's owner, Luz Rosario, knew or should have known the mail carrier would be coming to deliver the mail and the dog had "dangerous and vicious propensities and needed to be properly restrained." The suit said "the defendant, in a willful, wanton or reckless disregard of the plaintiff's rights and safety, left the front door to her home open and only closed the front screen door, failed to properly restrain her dog and placed responsibility for supervising this dog upon her children."
Powell, who could not be reached for comment, is seeking unspecified damages. Her lawyer, John Scully, declined to elaborate on the lawsuit.
The Courant said attempts to reach Rosario were unsuccessful.
East Hartford Senior Animal Control Officer Ed Ruiz said an investigation found no wrongdoing on the part of the dog or its owner. Ruiz noted "Beware of Dog" signs were on the gate of the fenced yard and the front door of the home.
Rosario told investigators another mail carrier had left mail in the gate and said Powell must have been new on the route, Ruiz said.
