Scott Evans Files Suit After Dog Asha Electrocuted In Parking Lot Puddle

Scott Evans, a Denver dog owner, has filed suit against Xcel Energy and several contractors after his dog Asha was electrocuted walking through an unmarked construction site.

9News reports the incident happened last October near West 38th Ave and Vrain Street, though the suit wasn't filed until Tuesday morning. The suit, filed by Animal Law Center, alleges a contractor drove rebar too far into the ground and breached a live electrical line.

Evans' dog, Asha, stepped in a puddle containing the exposed stake--which carried 277 volts--began howling, and died. 7News spoke with Jennifer Reba Edwards, Evans' attorney, who said, "They did not properly mark the area. They should've taken the proper steps to ensure the safety of the public."

Fox31 reports the suit is seeking medical bills for emotional damages to the owner, and legal fees.

WATCH (via Fox31):

Comments

[Susan Schmidt Baker]

10:19 AM on 07/28/2011

Our dog, and cats, are part of our family. I'd sue the he!! out of them!

[RicoShay]

12:03 PM on 07/27/2011

"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read" - Groucho Marx

[vetinkc]

02:38 AM on 07/27/2011

In general, only a close human relative of a person (human) can file a wrongful death suit. For example, a best friend of a woman, whose life is forever changed due to wrongful death, is out of luck in the courts..

"Animal law" is an emerging area of law, talked about at lawyer conferences, as the next "gold mine".......because of its profit potential (for lawyers). A jury's sympathy can easily be swayed by the poor little old lady whose nasty neighbor causes harm to "Fluffy" resulting in punitive emotional damages. But, consider, suppose "Fluffy" has fleas and itches all the time, has heartworms from lack of prevention once a month, is obese and gets diabetes (and the cataracts which always happen in diabetic dogs, leading to blindness) and Grandma does not address the health problems of her property, declines to treat heartworm, declines cataract surgery. Grandma is declining medically indicated care.

Is it appropriate to take Grandma to court for neglect? It is her choice to choose level of care for property, whether due to ignorance, finances, or values about how much one should spend on an owned pet. If grandma lives in the country and lets Fluffy run loose and Fluffy gets hit by car, should grandma be charged? What are Fluffy's "rights"? Should Fluffy be a child in the eyes of the law?

Elevating pets (living property) from the status of property to the status of humans is a double edged sword.

[sdshell140]

01:33 AM on 07/27/2011

This could have just have easily been a human that died (kids step in puddles all the time). I hope this guy wins a lot of money.

[Tammy1126]

01:18 AM on 07/27/2011

While the site should have been properly marked for the safety of people, marked or not the dog can't read.
What was the dog doing in a construction site? The article doesn't mention if the owner was walking the dog or if it had gotten loose. If the owner was walking the dog, clearly it wasn't on a leash and if it got loose then the owner didn't have proper control of their dog.
The idea that you can trespass on someone else's land and then sue them when you get hurt is sickening.

[ladymulti]

01:18 AM on 07/27/2011

*sigh* I"m sorry that the dog died, but unfortunately, he can only recover the cost of the dog... He should, instead, file a suit saying her feared for his own life causing emotional trauma.

[happyjoyjoy333]

12:28 AM on 07/27/2011

I hope the guy wins his lawsuit. What a horrible thing to hapen to him and his dog. The power company should pay. Then maybe they'd smarten up before others into danger like that.

[mfgarrison]

12:20 AM on 07/27/2011

i don't get it. the first thing i would do if my dog began howling would be to go to his rescue. so why wasn't the owner electrocuted , too?

[mrgawhitehead]

01:12 AM on 07/27/2011

He was

[merindean]

12:14 AM on 07/27/2011

Ok, let's straighten a few things out. First, if most states and Illinois is one, before anyone digs anything anywhere they are supposed to check for grids for gas lines, electric lines, and yes, even water lines so they don't accidentally hit one and either flood the streets, (which did happen in Chicago a few years ago when the entire loop got flooded), blow the entire street up, or yes, electrocute someone. A person with rubber soled shoes could walk on this same site and not get electrocuted, but dogs do not usually have on rubber shoes or any shoes. And what does a leash have to do with anything -- the site was unmarked or I doubt the owner would have walked his dog there. And yes it could have been a kid -- do you know how much kids love jumping in puddles? Finally, if that had been me and I had just seen my beloved dog electrocuted, yes indeed, I would have sued, including for emotional trauma. Maybe they will be more careful, but then it doesn't sound like for this "construction" outfit that "careful" was in their vocabulary.

[Mendi88]

12:14 AM on 07/27/2011

How sad! I nearly lost my son due to a construction company. My son made a SHARP left turn (at night), that goes immed. right curve then straightens out. Roads were being "repaved" but only a small area of "grating" was done. They left a lot of gravel ON the road. The grate portion dropped 2 inches then came back up after 5ft. He made the turn in our NEW truck with a very stiff suspension, he lost traction, he regained control as he got to the "grate". Then at the end of it coming back up, it just whipped around, sending him into a telephone pole in the drivers door, the downgrade of the roadside then shoved him thru a fence, then flipped over. Police said that he was VERY LUCKY to survive. He said 95% chance he SHOULD have been killed. I learned there we're half a dozen accidents or car going off the road AT these areas. I went to them, told them they to do something. The foreman told me to "eff off". I told him, since they had this "history", KNEW, and STILL hadn't fixed it, I'd be glad to tell the insurance company, and file a report, and sue them. I came back few hours later, and suddenly the areas we're marked! I COULD have sued, but didn't. But, I had more important things on my mind and I just wanted my son to be Ok. Thank God he is now. Go sue Scott!

[phulamvn69]

12:08 AM on 07/27/2011

As a owner of 3 dogs, I feel sorry for the owner, however, that being said, why was the dog off leash? "IF" there is a village, town or city ordinance about dogs being leashed, the owner may lose this one in court. Had the dog had a leash on him, the owner could have pulled the dog free from the water. But still, there should have been a warning sign indicating a possible hazard of electrocution. What if it were a small child playing in the puddle, as most do. This will be a tough one to decide in court.

[hlnwls4]

11:26 PM on 07/26/2011

This is about responsibility and the loss of a loved one. OBVIOUSLY the area was not marked nor cordoned off. They need to pay.

[Justmetootles]

12:50 PM on 08/03/2011

I just came across this article so I know my comment is late but I agree! They do need to pay but unfortunately I fear that because he is suing for emotional damages he won't get anywhere as the law does not recognize pets as loved ones, they are considered property. This is something that lawmakers could spend some time changing. He might get money for the cost of the dog but that's about it. As a dog owner myself, I know how much they mean to people. I know I would be devastated if this happened to one of mine!

[CT333]

11:24 PM on 07/26/2011

For those who don't think the life of a dog matters... what if this had been a child? Who was horribly shocked? A child, who howled and then died? Would their liability been any less? Case closed. They're guilty, and should be held responsible.

[manntxs]

11:12 PM on 07/26/2011

Maybe someone who knows more about this can answer my question. Was the dog on a leash with it's owner?

Just in case anyone cares. Do y'all know how much lawsuits are taking out of the economy? A HUGE chunk of change. Everyone in this country is essentially paying a lawsuit tax. Up to 25% of insurance premiums are due to fraud and excessive awards. Everything you buy has a lawsuit price on it. Every business charges you a hidden fee as a part of their expense. Every medical facility has to cover their butts so more money for services and services that aren't always needed to cover in case of a suit. Stores across the nation pay preventative costs. Those cameras in parking lots and inside stores aren't just for shoplifting but also for evidence.

A bus had a very minor accident and people piled into the bus from the street. Payday, free money. I am not absolutely certain of the cost in total but it could easily be 1% of our GDP. On small businesses alone in 2008 the estimate for insurance payouts, as well as payouts outside of insurance, the costs were 133 Billion. This years projection is over 150 Billion.

[johneudicone]

11:25 PM on 07/26/2011

It shouldn't matter whether or not the dog was leashed because a very dangerous situation existed and someone is responsible for that. It could have been a person that was killed. Why would the public have to pay for a contractor's negligence?

[manntxs]

08:28 AM on 07/27/2011

Well, if I was investigating this one thing I would want to know is if a person was there. One of the reasons I was asking that question. Because if they were, what was the injury to them.

This story has so little actual content in it that there is no way of knowing the full details. Until I see more I reserve judgement.

What I posted about lawsuit abuse is real and you are paying for it in virtually every single thing you buy and virtually every service you pay for. And, unless the outcry over it is loud enough the lawyers in DC will keep the lawyers, who give them big money, the chance to continue to abuse the courts. How do you think John Edwards got rich?

[wireu]

11:39 PM on 07/26/2011

It happened in October and he just now filed a suit? I think the suit is all about money.

[Mendi88]

12:26 AM on 07/27/2011

In case you didn't know, and I suspect you don't. There's such a thing as grieving a loss of an animal. There's also the fact the man weighed his options once he got over the shock, anger, grief and is making a rational decision NOW instead of in the moment. Also, it takes a little bit of time to meet up with a lawyer or several to see what can be done. This may have happened AFTER the man TRIED to negotiate with the company and they fluffed him off. Also, there's such a thing as doing research about something. He may have had other things going on in his life as well. And, wow, there's is a thing called a statute of limitations. Which gives him the RIGHT to sue in a civil court against them for up to ONE YEAR from the incident date. Unless its a governement entity, then its only 6 months. People wait to file for many different reasons. One is simply to file at the last second so that there may not be a retalitory lawsuit placed back on the orginal plantiff. I'm not saying that happened here. I believe it was one of the other above things mentioned. But, you see, THAT is HIS business. And, YOU dont know his reasonings so who are you to judge why the length of time? Boy I'd hate to see you sitting on any jury, if your hung up on something so easily explained as this.

[trishamine]

11:09 PM on 07/26/2011

So very sad, my heart sank when I heard this story. I have always wanted a dog like Asha, I think they are beautiful. What a horrid thing for the owner to witness, his loving pet dieing and he couldn't understand what had happened he must have a terrible sick felling after seeing that. What if it were a human that had done what the dog did? I hope he gets a good sum from them, that poor dog, how horrible.