St. Bernard mangles woman's face, suit claims

A woman has filed suit against the owner of a dog that she claims mangled her face.

Erica Karbowiak claims she was walking on the 7200 block of Town Hall Road in Belleville on May 2, 2009, when a St. Bernard dog known as Bandit bit her, mangling and lacerating her face.

Because of the incident, Karbowiak suffered disfigurement, lost her ability to enjoy life, experienced pain and suffering and suffered serious and permanent injuries to her face, according to the complaint filed May 21 in St. Clair County Circuit Court. In addition, she experienced the need for subsequent medical procedures to fix scarring to her face and will suffer great physical and mental anguish due to her scars, the suit states.

Karbowiak blames the dog's owner, Allen W. Vogt, for the incident, saying he negligently failed to properly restrain his dog and failed to maintain his dog in a closed area.

In her two-count complaint, Karbowiak is seeking a judgment of more than $100,000, plus costs and other relief the court deems just.

Kenneth K. Vuylsteke of Fox and Vuylsteke in Webster Groves will be representing her.

St. Clair County Circuit Court case number: 10-L-252.