Earlier this month, three people were attacked by a pair of pit bulls near Five Forks Trickum Road in Lawrenceville. Now, one of the people who sustained injuries has decided to file a lawsuit against the owner of the pit bulls. The lawsuit was officially filed by Zagoria Law, a personal injury law firm, on behalf of Zhongkai Mao, 77. The suit names Rosa Garcia as the defendant.According to the lawsuit, Garcia failed to keep her two pit bulls “restrained so they wouldn't leave her property,” and as a result, Mao and two others were attacked. During the attack, Mao sustained “deep wounds on his leg and his family previously reported that he, at one point, faced the possibility of having his leg amputated.”When discussing the attack that transpired, attorney Brooks Neely said:“Mr. Mao is suffering severely and, according to doctors, will possibly need years of rehabilitation. At Zagoria Law, our priority in every dog bite case is to ensure that dog owners are held responsible for the actions of their pets when those actions cause injury to others.”

Gwinnett County Courthouse; image courtesy of John Trainor via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org

Since the accident, Mao has undergone a number of procedures and surgeries, and his set to begin vacuum therapy on his leg. To help with expenses, a GoFundMe page was set up by Mao's son-in-law, Robert Davis, who also posts regular updates on the page. In a recent update about the vacuum therapy, Davis wrote:“If successful, Moa will continue long-term vacuum treatment at home, which according to the social worker he will be on his own to pay for. After several weeks of treatment, skin grafts may be necessary.”So far the GoFundMe page has managed to raise $4,255, but the overall goal is $300,000. Unfortunately, Mao has no job and no insurance to help cover the medical costs he's accruing, which is a big reason why the family set up the GoFundMe page and is why his family is hoping for a favorable outcome with the lawsuit.But what happened leading up to the attack? How was Mao targeted by the two dogs? Well, according to the lawsuit, the two dogs first “attacked a 16-year old girl near the intersection of Five Forks Trickum Road and Emerald Forest Court on April 2.” Seeing the attack taking place, a passerby “pulled her into their car to get her away from the pit bulls,” who then set their sights on Mao and began attacking him. Eventually, the dogs left Mao and “wandered into a neighborhood and severely attacked another man in his backyard.” According to a report from the Gwinnett Animal Welfare and Enforcement, Mao's leg was bleeding so badly from the attack that a “tourniquet had to be applied.”Mao and the other two victims had to be rushed to local hospitals so their injuries could be treated, and once the local Animal Welfare and Enforcement officers learned who the dogs belonged to, they paid Garcia a visit. Once she learned what had happened, she surrendered her dogs. Later, both dogs were “euthanized and their bodies were sent off to a lab for rabies tests, which came back negative.”At the moment, it's not known whether the other two victims will seek legal action against Garcia.

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Lawsuit filed over pit bull attacks on Five Forks Trickum RoadMan continues to recover after severe dog attack