The administrators for the estate of a deceased Fayette County woman have reached a $17,500 settlement with an Indiana couple who claimed the woman's miniature poodle repeatedly bit the face of their 5-year-old son in 2002. The settlement will provide $10,136.11 for any surgery that Micah Kitchen may choose to have to eliminate scarring, according to an order signed Wednesday by Fayette County Judge Gerald Solomon. Micah, who turns 10 later this month, suffered puncture wounds to a cheek and beneath his lower lip and a laceration below his right eye during the May 3, 2002, incident in Bullskin Township. He was treated at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh after a referral from Highlands Hospital in Connellsville. Micah's parents, Timothy and Jennifer Kitchen, of Connersville, Ind., filed a lawsuit in January 2005 against their former neighbor on Buttermore Boulevard, Janet Williams. Williams was living at the Fencil Personal Care Home in Connellsville when she died on Aug. 14, 2002, at the age of 76, according to court records. Her estate is administered by the Rev. Larry and Linda Hellein. "At the (May 1) mediation, it was evident that Micah had recovered from the trauma and injuries in this matter, but in the future, he may desire elective surgery to totally eliminate the appearance of the scars," the Kitchens' attorney, Brian W. DelVecchio, said in a court document this week. In an e-mail, DelVecchio said the money will be deposited into a court-supervised minor's account that will be used only for future medical treatment. The remainder of the settlement will pay for attorney fees, case expenses and a lien filed by Highmark Blue Shield, court records show.

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