[Nfbf-l] aI need some help...

[Bill Kociaba]

                Hi all,

I have a question for you all and am hoping someone out there has heard of
someone with this issue.  First I wamt to say I am posting this here instead
of on the guide dog users list because there is so much traffic here and
even if you do not use a dog you may know the answer.

I was in an accident on Dec 10 I was crossing a residental street in my
neighborhood with my dog and was struck by a woman in a SUV.  She was
actually stopped waiting for a break in parallel traffic and started moving
just as I stepped in front of her car.  Thankfully she was just starting to
move and was at a very low speed and didn't do much damege. at least not to
me.  A few scrapes and bumps and brusises a sore neck etc but nothing like
whatt would have happened if she was moving faster. Unfortunatly my dog was
not as fortunate. I actually fell on her and caused the injuries she
suffered.  She has been under a vet's care for the past two months and was
finally cleared two weeks ago.  I had a representative from the Seeing Eye
here last weekend to evaluate things and she concluded that its best for
Blair to retire. She is 7 and in good health so under normal circumstances
she probably had another 3-4 years of work left in her.  

My question is does anyone know of a similar situation and any presedents re
settelments for a dogs working life being  cut short?  I have over $5000 in
vet bills that my lawyer says will not be an issue to get reimbursed for but
the rest is an unknown.  He asked me to look into this.  I started with the
Seeing Eye and they had no answers for me other than to tell me what they
estimated the value of a dog to be. I am headed up there on march 4th to
train with a new dog and will continue to pick people's brains while there
but was hoping someone out there might have some insight for me.

If you prefer you can contact me directly off the list at
williamkociaba at comcast.net

 

Thanks very much in advance for any help with this

Bill

williamkociaba at comcast.net