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I won't bore you with all of the details, but basically the dog that bit my son is no stranger to animal control and has sent at least one other person to the emergency room, also during a completely unprovoked attack. Just after the dog was released for quarantine by animal control the last attack, the owners brought him to a park and left him unmuzzled and unsupervised right where children were playing, which is where my son was attacked.
The authorities have been contacted and things are moving along there regarding the recent attack on my son, but I'd also like to seek legal advice and possibly civil remedies.
Concern for the safety of others doesn't seem to be a priority for these dog owners, so perhaps concern for their checkbook will have more of an impact. They seem to need some kind of wake up call before the dog eventually maims or kills someone.
I'm not looking for legal advice, but for tips on how to find a good personal injury attorney, and any other resources, suggestions or tips an what else I can do. I want to do everything I possibly can to make sure this dog won't have the opportunity to attack anyone else ever again.
You've got to press to have the dog put-down. You cannot risk the same thing happening again especially if the dog has bitten someone before.
That's two people in hospital because of that dog, I know that it sounds harsh but people must come first and if the owners are not restraining or muzzling the dog then it has to go.
I know that it sounds harsh but people must come first and if the owners are not restraining or muzzling the dog then it has to go.
They actually tried to discourage me from taking my son to the emergency room, even though he had fang marks and blood dripping down his leg. They said medical care was unecessary and they wouldn't bother!
I found out later that they had complained to a mutual acquaintance about the medical expenses they had to pay from the previous dog bite victim. My friend said they were mad because she went to a regular hospital emergency room instead of going to Kaiser where the victim was a member. Kaiser would have been a lot cheaper. (I suspect the victim may have just gone to the closest emergency room, since she had just been attacked by a dog.) My friend said they showed no remorse for the victim at all. They were just mad about having to pay the bill.
I don't know much about dog laws right now but these people need to somehow be made to realize that they would not have to worry about dog bite victim medical bills if their dog wasn't biting people in the first place.
They actually tried to discourage me from taking my son to the emergency room, even though he had fang marks and blood dripping down his leg. They said medical care was unecessary and they wouldn't bother!]
HUH? That is like a duh statment. Dogs carry diseases, and cause infections in wounds that aren't properly cared for. Puncture wounds are the worse for infection setting in.
File a police report, Have the dog put down, find out about their insurance covering the animal bites.
My dog was attacked by a pit bull and rotwhiler that got into my fenced yard. They almost killed her. She had wounds they could not stitch that became infected and I had to sit and drain these wounds for days. The ones that were stitched were horrible.
Since the guy was "so nice" about paying for the vet bill with no problem, I decided to drop the charges, not knowing the dogs had previously attacked, and did so once again to a smaller dog, who also survived. Had I pressed charges and stuck with it, that dog would not have been attacked.
If a dog attack can cause that type of infection in my dog, what could it do to your child that they said not to take to the hospital. The did not want you to take your child because there would be ramifications against them. The dog would be in quaratine and not allowe out without someone with it at all times.
And you can request their dog be put down.
I'm so sorry for this. An unprovoked attack shows a dog that is not a good one.
The dog isn't so much the problem as are the owners. The owners in question should no longer be allowed to own dogs. If the DA does not press to make this so, then the owners will just go out and get another dog and the cycle will repeat. The owners simply don't know how to raise and care for dogs responsibly. Period.
Is the dog in quarantine now after attacking your son? Hopefully, those owners will NOT get the dog back. Please let us know what happens. Best wishes to your son a speedy recovery. If he ever wants to meet nice dogs, let me know!
Sorry, I'm a dog trainer and that kind of irresponsibility p*sses me off no end! Multiple "incidents" resulting in ER visits and these idiots leave that dog unsupervised around KIDS, no less? That's like waving a loaded weapon around at a school playground!
[I could go on a long rant here, but I'll spare you all ...]
I hope your son's OK ... and I hope he doesn't grow up to hate all dogs, so many of them are wonderful creatures ...
Get a good lawyer! A search for "dog bite lawyer" may turn up someone with experience in this type of case.
[edited by: MamaDawg at 12:32 pm (utc) on June 20, 2006]
The owners sound irresponsible - they should bring back dog licences!
TJ
I think here if a dog attack a kid then it is alomost always put down. Which is sad because most of the time it is the owners fault and not the dogs. Here there has been a lot of media attention srounding dog bits. One man was killed when 2 dogs came into his home and attacked him. A little girls was severly wonded and has undergond many surgerys to repair her face after a dog attacked her while she was playing in her yard. + there were 2 other incedents. local officals here are starting to file criminal complains on the owners. I think the owners of the 2 dogs that killed the man took a reckless manslauter plee.
Sorry, I'm a dog trainer and that kind of irresponsibility p*sses me off no end! Multiple "incidents" resulting in ER visits and these idiots leave that dog unsupervised around KIDS, no less?
They not only left the dog where kids were playing, but near a walkway where the kids had to pass by to get to a picnic area. The only other way to get to the picnic area was for the kids to walk out into the street. The kids and adults that were there that day actually had to step around the dog, as he was laying in the middle of a relatively narrow path.
The dog owners even had warned at least some of the other parents not have their kids make any sudden moves around the dog and had told them about the previous attack. But they didn't say anything to my family so we were unaware the dog might pose a danger.
They remind me of that couple in CA that had two pit-bull type dogs that attacked and killed a woman living in an apartment building. The owners blamed the victim! I haven't heard of any cases where the owners were severely punished for dog attacks which is unfortunate because then other irresponsible owners are free to do as they please without fear of punishment.
The kids and adults that were there that day actually had to step around the dog, as he was laying in the middle of a relatively narrow path.The dog owners even had warned at least some of the other parents not have their kids make any sudden moves around the dog
Geez! So they not only leave the dog unsupervised in the WORST possible location, they KNEW exactly what triggered prior attacks? UN-believable!
They remind me of that couple in CA that had two pit-bull type dogs that attacked and killed a woman living in an apartment building. The owners blamed the victim!
We thought of the similarities with that incident, too. Those dog owners went to some kind of hearing to try to keep the dog from being put down after it had killed someone horrifically. The dog hearing was televised locally. I think their failure to show any empathy for the victim during the course of the hearing may well have influenced the jury pool at their eventual criminal trial. The local media had a field day with their total lack of concern for anyone but themselves and their dog.
I talked to a few lawyers this morning. One thought animal control would probably have the dog put down because of the second attack. She said that in any event it would be declared a vicious dog and the safeguards people have to take then are so expensive most people can't afford to comply and th dogs end up being destroyed instead.
There was a couple in my parents neighborhood that had a large black lab mix (likely mixed with a Rottie). They let the dog loose ALL THE TIME saying that dogs need to roam. WRONGO, buddy! If the owners didn't care about the dog attacking someone else, they SHOULD be concerned that the dog could get hurt by any number of means. In any case, my mom called animal control on them SO many times that the people up and moved. Their dog, along with a few other loose dogs, had formed a neighborhood pack and scared the CRAP outta people. Some people just shouldn't own dogs.
I do hope the physical and mental scars clear up quickly.
Dangerous dogs (and there are many) require sensible owners. Clearly, in this example, the owner should not be allowed to own any dogs as they have no common sense.
They need to learn from this, and it may be hitting their pocket will get their attention.
I grew up around dogs and my parents had two massive guard dogs in my childhood. Both guard dogs were enormous and savage but ONLY when we were threatened.
I and My school friends used wrestle with them with out injury.
Point here is that there were both well trained, people who drag their dogs up should be put down as well.
AS this has happened before them Id look to sue the owners.
Jane I don't know how you contained yourself, "put down" is the lightest term, the dog likely would have left the park in a bag (and me in cuffs) had it been my child.
I found out later that they had complained to a mutual acquaintance about the medical expenses they had to pay from the previous dog bite victim.
"Stuff happens” is a good explanation the first time a dog bites a stranger.
The second time "negligence" is a lot more appropriate word.
I would agree with you if this were the first time the dog attacked somebody. The second time is a completely different situation.
If there is proof of this, Jane_Doe would be a fool to not punish the owner legally.
I confirmed with animal control today what my friend had told me about the previous bite. The dog has bitten someone else and had been quarantined on that occasion to make sure it didn't have rabies. And yet they still brought it to the park with kids after that and left it unattended.
I asked to file a report beyond what Kaiser sent them regarding the attack on my son. So I'll keep you guys posted on how that turns out.
LisaB
This New Jersey statute provides that the owner of any dog that bites a person while such person is on or in a public place, or lawfully on or in a private place, including the property of the owner of the dog, shall be liable for such damages suffered by the person bitten, regardless of the former viciousness of such dog or the owner's knowledge of such viciousness.
We've also got laws concerning vicious dogs:
A dog shall not be declared vicious for inflicting death or serious bodily injury as defined in N.J.S.2C:11-1(b) upon a person if the dog was provoked.
If a dog is declared vicious or potentially dangerous, and all appeals pertaining thereto have been exhausted, the owner of the dog shall be liable to the municipality in which the dog is impounded for the costs and expenses of impounding and destroying the dog.
I happened to research this topic recently and I found that many insurance companies are no longer covering dog bites under a homeowners policy. Still, there is a liability that comes with dogs.
