March 19 2007 - Man gets $122,400 for cat bite

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FLUSHING, Mich., Mar 19, 2007-- An ex-Marine and Vietnam veteran from Flushing, Mich., was awarded $122,400 by a jury after his sister's cat bit him on the hand.

Tom Pabst, an attorney for Michael Sabo, said the jury ordered his client's sister's insurance company to pay the sum after Sabo was bitten on the hand by the Siamese cat while delivering a barbecue grill her home, the Flint (Mich.) Journal reported Monday. The jury ruled

"This was a Siamese seal-point," Pabst said. "They're the pit bulls of cat."

Pabst said an infection from the bite caused Sabo's fingers to swell to the point of "plump hot dogs" and his arm to expand to the point of resembling the "Incredible Hulk."

Sabo spent three weeks in a veterans' hospital after the bite and accumulated $20,000 in medical bills. Pabst said Sabo also lost $11,500 in income and his arm is not yet at full strength. He said his client considered the pain to be worse than when he was struck by a sniper's bullet in Vietnam.