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Aspen dog-bite incident lands in civil court

Four parties are alleged to be responsible for an unprovoked dog bite that inflicted serious injuries on an Aspen woman’s left hand.

Local resident Linda Hassall filed suit after business hours Wednesday in Pitkin County District Court in an effort to hold defendants Ajax Technologies, Pyramid Property Advisors, North Mill Street Investors and individual Daniel Rave civilly liable for the February 2016 incident.

Hassall, who works in Aspen, declined comment Thursday. However, her attorney in the matter, Jeff Wertz of Aspen, said he could not put a price tag on how much money she is due for her injuries.



“I don’t think there’s enough money for me to trade places with my client at this point,” he said. “These kind of things are left up the jury. It’s a very serious injury. Her treatment is ongoing and she’ll probably be dealing with this the rest of her life.”

The incident occurred when Hassall worked for a business at 555 N. Mill St.




Hassall, while dropping off some misplaced mail to Ajax Technologies, was bitten in several places by a German shepherd owned by Rave, the suit alleges.

“Hassall did nothing to provoke the dog into attacking and biting her,” alleges the complaint, which also says “the dog was left unattended at the time of the incident.”

Since the alleged attack, Hassall has undergone multiple medical procedures on her wrist, and she “has suffered a loss of the usual enjoyment of her life and the social and recreational activities she used to enjoy as a result of the incident,” the suit claims.

The suit also says that the dog was euthanized after the incident, though Wertz could not say it was because of the alleged attack.

Rave currently lives in Pembroke Pines, Florida, according to his Facebook page. He did not respond to a message seeking comment Thursday.

An employee at Ajax Technologies said the company was unaware of the suit and had no immediate comment about the matter.

Pyramid Property Advisors, the property manager for the building where the alleged attack occurred, and North Mill Street Investors, the building’s owner, are named as defendants because of a “premises liability” claims against them.

“Under Colorado premises liability law, the dog constituted a dangerous condition,” the suit says.

The suit also says the defendants also are being held civilly responsible under Colorado’s dog-bite statute, in addition to a negligence claim.

rcarroll@aspentimes.com

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