A Van Nuys woman whose arm was amputated after being attacked by a dog adopted from a city animal shelter will receive up to $7.5 million in a settlement approved by the Los Angeles City Council on Friday.
Argelia Alvarado, 74, was seriously injured by a pit bull named O'Gee in her backyard in September 2020.
Alvarado's son, Brent, had adopted O'Gee from the city's East Valley Animal Shelter. The dog had gotten there in May 2020 after biting a jogger on both arms, according to a lawsuit Alvarado filed against the city, alleging negligence.
On June 13, 2020, a shelter supervisor approved placing O'Gee in the main kennels, and the next day, a different supervisor allowed him to be listed for public adoption, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleged that shelter staff failed to provide Brent with written notice of O'Gee's bite history, as required by state law.
The attack on Alvarado “lasted at least 20 minutes and was a savage beating in which both of Plaintiff Argelia's arms were brutally mangled, with her right arm broken into pieces and almost completely severed above the elbow,” according to the lawsuit, filed in July. 2021.
While Algeria's right arm could not be saved, his left arm was also severely injured, “resulting in permanent disability of his left arm and entire body,” according to the lawsuit.
O'Gee was euthanized after the attack.
Neither City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto nor the attorney representing Alvarado immediately responded to a request for comment following the City Council vote.
The settlement in Alvarado's lawsuit comes about two weeks after Leslie Corea, a former Animal Services employee, was severely mauled by a dog at the San Pedro City Animal Shelter. Corea told NBC that she underwent three surgeries, adding, “My thigh is halfway gone.”
Both city employees and animal activists have expressed alarm over the overcrowded and dangerous state of the city's shelters.
Department of Animal Services General Manager Staycee Dains wrote in an email to the public last month that the overcrowding crisis “has put staff, volunteers and animals in danger.”
