Van Nuys woman who lost arm in dog attack receives $7.5 million from LA city

A Van Nuys woman whose arm had to be amputated after she was attacked by a dog adopted from the city’s animal shelter is set to receive up to $7.5 million under 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 arrived 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 supervisor at the shelter approved O’Gee’s placement in the main kennel, and the next day another supervisor approved his public adoption, the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit alleged that shelter staff failed to provide Brent with written information about O’Gee’s biting history, as required by state law.

The attack on Alvarado “lasted at least 20 minutes and was a brutal beating in which both of Plaintiff Argelia’s arms were brutally mangled, with her right arm broken into pieces and almost completely severed above her elbow,” the lawsuit filed in July 2021 states.

While Argelia’s right arm could not be saved, her left arm was also severely injured, “resulting in permanent disability of the left arm and entire body,” the lawsuit states.

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 after the City Council vote.

The settlement in Alvarado’s lawsuit came about two weeks after Leslie Corea, a longtime animal control worker, was severely mauled by a dog at the city’s San Pedro animal shelter. Corea told NBC she has had three surgeries, adding, “My femur is half gone.”

Both city employees and animal rights activists have expressed concern about the overcrowding and dangerous nature of city animal shelters.

Staycee Dains, general manager of the Department of Animal Welfare, wrote in an email to the public last month that the overcrowding crisis “has put staff, volunteers and animals at risk.”