Jesse James Sued by Former Employee for ‘Vicious’ Dog Attack
Jesse James Chelsea Lauren/WireImage
Jesse James is being sued by a former employee over injuries allegedly inflicted by his dogs.
James’ former personal assistant Karen Sanchez-Roberts claimed his dogs “began attacking each other” in April 2023, per court documents obtained by Us Weekly.
“As the attack continued, Sanchez-Roberts attempted to separate the dogs before they seriously injured one another,” the docs read. “As she separated the dogs, she was also attacked and bitten without provocation on her right hand.”
Following the alleged incident, Sanchez-Roberts was “bleeding profusely” and taken to a local clinic, where she was diagnosed with a fracture and received stitches.
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Sanchez-Roberts claimed James did not provide workers’ compensation insurance. “As a result of the incident, Plaintiff suffered severe, debilitating and permanent injuries that have required surgical intervention,” reads the lawsuit.
Sanchez-Roberts alleged that James, 55, “knew his dogs had a propensity to be vicious and aggressive towards others. Nevertheless, [he] failed to take any corrective action leading up to the incident.”
Sanchez-Roberts also accused James of “negligent handling of animals, failing to restrain the dogs, failing to take actions to prevent the attack, failing to act like a reasonably prudent dog owner” and “failing to provide a reasonably safe workplace.”
She alleged that James “had actual knowledge that the animals had vicious propensities and had the ability to restrain or exclude the dogs from others and the premises. Nonetheless, [he] failed to exclude the dogs from others they posed a danger to.”
The docs further claimed that the dogs were “more aggressive” toward people “than is typical of their breed.” Sanchez-Roberts claimed that James has five dogs at his residence in Austin, Texas, where she worked as his personal assistant for his businesses, including West Coast Choppers, which James founded.
Sanchez-Roberts is seeking monetary damages to compensate for her medical care and expenses, physical pain and suffering, physical impairment, mental anguish, disfigurement and loss of wages.
James has denied “each and every” one of her claims in docs obtained by Us.
Us Weekly has reached out to James’ legal team for comment.
This is not the first time that James’ dogs have made headlines for their behavior. In 2011, TMZ reported that James’ pit bull attacked a corgi who was rushed to a nearby vet, which led a witness to call 911.
The outlet reported that the corgi received stitches and a drainage tube in his neck to prevent infection. James reportedly also paid $250 to cover the dog’s medical bills.
