Victim sues the entire building after paralyzed by falling dog

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All of the tenants and landlord of an electronics factory in south China's Guangzhou were sued by a woman who was paralyzed from the neck down after she was hit by a falling dog.

In April, the woman, under the pseudonym Zhang Ping, was walking down the street in the city's Baiyun District when a cream-colored dog fell from above and struck her on the head, shows a surveillance camera footage.

The falling dog from above struck Zhang on the head. /Photo via CCTV news

Shortly after that, the dog, as if nothing had happened, got up and walked away, reported The Beijing News.

However, the 47-year-old woman immediately slumped unconscious onto the ground and was sent to a hospital for her serious injuries.

Zhang came to Guangzhou from central China's Hubei Province this year. She had planned to find a job there and save money for her son's marriage.

The incident, however, changed the lives of the family.

"I have spent over 300,000 yuan (about 42,000 U.S. dollars) on treatment and living expenses these past seven months. I don't know how much money will be spent on it," explained Zhang. "I just want the lawsuit to be over as soon as possible and go back home. I don't want to receive treatment in Guangzhou; it is too expensive."

Zhang's 24-year-old son, Zhang Liqing, quit his job at a local advertising agency after his mother was injured.

"I told him that it is not good to ask for leave all the time," Zhang told Guangzhou Daily.

To prevent her muscles from deteriorating, Zhang has to be massaged every two hours. /Photo via Xinhua

After being discharged from the hospital, the family decided to live in a small hotel nearby. Still unable to move from the neck down, Zhang has to lie down all day and be massaged every two hours to prevent her muscles from deteriorating.

Every two weeks, she has to go back to the hospital for a catheter change.

Seven months after the incident, the owner of the dog has not been found.

"But we found a cage on the second-floor balcony, which at least proved that the animal was raised there," said the 47-year-old victim.

Zhang's lawyer advised her to sue all the tenants of the factory.

The dog fell from the second-floor balcony of the factory. /Photo via CCTV News

However, the landlord has denied responsibility.

"If the dog had fallen from a high place and was greatly frightened, it would go back to its familiar residence," the landlord said. "However, the CCTV footage shows that the dog went another direction, which means that the dog had never lived here before."

Since the woman did not directly access the property, he should not be responsible, the landlord added.