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| Cody Ladewig continues to recover from injuries he suffered during a dog attack in 2009. |
Cody Ladewig, 9, Wisconsin Rapids, is loving, happy and outgoing, said his mother, Rhonda, but he still carries the scars from being bitten in the face and arm. He had about seven surgeries for facial reconstruction and skin grafts on his arm. The ring and middle fingers of his right hand don't work independently of each other, and his arm is scarred from the attack. Cody also has an indentation on the back of his leg, which his mother said is big enough to put her fist in.
"My son almost lost his arm," Rhonda Ladewig said. "This is his life for the rest of it."
Family members said Cody was playing ball with John Tremmel's pit bull on June 4, 2009, while the owner was present. When the ball went inside the dog's house, Cody reached for it, and the dog attacked. Tremmel cussed at the dog and hit it in an effort to free Cody. In the process, the dog also bit Tremmel.
The dog was destroyed, and no charges were filed against Tremmel.
In November 2009, the Ladewigs filed a lawsuit seeking unspecified damages against the dog's owners, Tremmel and Misty Franck, and against Janice and Larry Winters, the owners of the rental property where the couple kept the dog. The lawsuit also sought compensation from Winters' insurance company, Auto-Owners Insurance Co. of Appleton. Wood County Circuit Judge Greg Potter dismissed Janice and Larry Winters, as well as the insurance company, from the lawsuit.
The Ladewigs' attorney, Alan Grischke, appealed Potter's decision to the District IV Court of Appeals. The higher court upheld Potter's decision, stating landlords are not liable for the injuries caused by a dog owned by their tenants.
"We conclude the landlords' ability to enforce the lease provision does not qualify the landlords as owners nor keepers of their tenants' pit bull, and therefore the landlords are not liable as a matter of law for the injuries caused by that dog," the opinion states.
Despite the decision, Larry and Rhonda Ladewig are determined to continue with the lawsuit. They want Cody to get compensation for what he has been through and the problems he will have in the future.
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| I found this on a site listing a benefit to raise money for him. Supposedly this is Cody's arm. |
Cody recently had a biopsy performed on his arm because one of the wounds wouldn't heal, Larry Ladewig said. Doctors feared it could be cancerous or infected. Tests showed there wasn't a more serious problem, but Cody might need another similar procedure this year.
Cody will continue to need skin grafts on his arm until he has finished growing, Rhonda Ladewig said. A doctor told him he could reconstruct his lip to make it fuller so that it looks like the other side. Cody doesn't want to do that because the facial surgeries are painful. Besides, he likes being able to stick out his tongue without opening his mouth, Rhonda Ladewig said.
The family's insurance, Badgercare Plus Managed Care Program, has paid most of Cody's medical bills, Rhonda Ladewig said. However, the company also is suing the dog's owners to get its money back.
In the meantime, Cody, who is going into the fourth grade this fall, is looking forward to camping and going to the Wisconsin Dells, parties and every fireman's picnic in the area this summer.
(Wisconsin Rapis Daily Tribune - June 17, 2011)
