In a front-page story, The Buffalo News recently reported on a lawsuit, which was filed by attorney Melissa Wischerath, on behalf of the family of a victim of domestic violence.
The victim in this matter texted 911, for police protection during a domestic violence incident. Police entered the victim’s Buffalo apartment four days after she contacted 911, where they found her dead from the domestic violence assault.
A lawsuit was filed against the City of Buffalo, Erie County, and Erie County Central Police Service. The defendants in the lawsuit are accused of wrongful death, civil rights violations, and negligence.
Victim’s Exchange with 911 and Police Response Time
The victim sent a series of text messages to 911 in the early morning of August 3, 2023. The texts pleaded for police to respond during a domestic violence incident. At 5:16 AM, 30 minutes after the victim’s first message to 911, a 911 call-taker responded that the police were at the victim’s apartment. However, the police did not actually arrive to the victim’s apartment building until 6:00 AM. The lawsuit alleges that when the police arrived, they did not enter the apartment building or knock on the victim’s apartment door.
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$3.65 Million Result for Injured Construction Worker
Personal injury attorney Melissa Wischerath obtained a $3.65 million settlement on behalf of her client, who was a construction worker injured in an on-the-job accident.
The victim in this accident was a heavy equipment operator who was working on a construction project for the Niagara Falls Water Board.
Melissa Wischerath successfully argued that New York State Labor Laws were violated and established that the Niagara Falls Water Board failed to comply with their duty to provide proper protection to the heavy equipment operator who was injured on their construction project.
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Personal Injury attorney William P. Moore recently utilized an April 2025 decision from the New York State Court of Appeals to achieve a significant settlement for his client, who was the victim of a dog attack.
Decades of Injustice for Victims of Domestic Animal Attacks
In 2006, the New York State Court of Appeals issued a ruling, which significantly limited a victim’s right to seek justice if they had been harmed by a dog bite or other domestic animal attack.
In the 2006 case of Bard v. Jahnke, the Court of Appeals ruled that the owner of a domestic animal cannot be held liable for negligence when their pet causes harm to others. This ruling set a precedent that was applied for nearly 20 years in New York State, which significantly limited the extent that pet owners can be held accountable for harm that their dog or other domestic animal caused.
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