14 DAY TRIAL // You wouldn't think that a seemingly innocent domestic bird could pose a danger to humans, especially since it was raised surrounded by people and interacted with them, but this story coming from Washington proves that we should always be on the lookout when animals are around us
A Washougal woman is suing the owner of a domestic duck for $275,000 (nearly €200,000), claiming she suffered a broken wrist after the bird attacked her.
Cynthia Ruddell was visiting her mother at her motor home in Estracada, Oregon, in May 2012 when the unusual incident happened. She says she was stepping out of the house when the aggressive duck, who has been wandering down the street, attacked her like a wild animal for no apparent reason.
The woman tripped and fell while she was trying to escape the violent duck.
“The duck flapped its wings at her and knocked her back and she fell down on an outstretched hand and fractured her wrist in two spots,” Ruddell's lawyer Gregory Price told KATU. The 62-year-old woman claims she fractured her right wrist, hurt her elbow and shoulder, and suffered a rotator cuff injury as a result of the fall. Now, she is accusing her mother's neighbor Lolita Rose of negligence and asks for $275,000 (€200,000) in damages, including $25,000 (€18,000) for medical expenses.
According to the lawsuit, filed in Clackamas County Circuit Court last Friday, Rose knew her duck pet “had abnormally dangerous propensities in attacking people in an aggressive manner,” but failed to contain the bird on her property and warn neighbors of her pet's violent behavior.
Ruddell's attorney also mentions that several neighbors complained about the duck's aggressiveness, saying that it attacked children at the school bus stop before.
“These injuries, some of which may be permanent in nature, have caused her, and continue to cause her pain, suffering, inconvenience, humiliation and interfere with [her] normal and usual activities and have caused her permanent scarring all to her noneconomic damage in an amount to be determined by a jury, but are currently estimated not to exceed $250,000,” the suit states.
Both parties involved in the incident declined to comment on the lawsuit, but Price mentioned he hoped to settle the lawsuit out of court within the next 60 days.
The duck was reportedly put down after the incident.
In 2012, a 78-year-old woman was attacked by a Muscovy duck while she was photographing birds in Sarasota, Florida. She was unable to walk for two days because of the painful wounds on her legs.