Madison Holland‘s camel bite case has concluded, and the young girl will be awarded $155,000. However, experts say Miss Holland will receive the total amount of $190,000 due to the fact the money will earn interest by the time she becomes an adult.
In 2015, Holland, who is now eleven years of age, attended a birthday party with a large group of friends at the Virginia Safari Park in Natural Bridge. The park is rather unique; it is a drive-through zoo that is described as follow:
“Visitors to the Safari Park drive their cars or ride on wagons through the 180-acre property, where antelopes, camels, llamas, zebras and other animals often approach the vehicles to be fed from buckets of grain provided by the park.”
Miss Holland, who was on a wagon ride, was not feeding the camel but was bitten on the arm and forearm. Holland was in the hospital for several days, and eventually, the family hired Brooks Hundley to sue the company. Instead of going to court and having a PR nightmare, Virginia Safari Park settled. According to Hundley, the settlement will be split in the following manner:
“The settlement was for $155,000, Holland actually will receive nearly $190,000. That is because the money will earn interest until she turns 18 when she will be old enough to begin collecting payments. An annuity established for Holland will pay her a $10,000 lump sum when she turns 18, followed by $1,000 monthly payments starting when she turns 21 and continuing through 2040. About $35,000 of the settlement will be paid to Hundley’s firm for legal fees, and nearly $3,000 will go to medical bills. Holland spent several days in the hospital and still bears a scar on her arm.”
Mr. Hundley argued:
“Having a wild animal that is interacting with people, I think you would have to use an extra degree of care.”
The attorney added:
“I can’t say what the animal’s thought process was, but the animal was probably upset that she wasn’t feeding him.”
Via their insurance carrier, Scottsdale Insurance Co., Virginia Safari Park said the settlement was a “good faith payment” and continued to deny the allegations.