Missouri Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

Four people were bitten by dogs after two separate dog attacks on the same day in South Bend, Indiana. Three people were sent to the hospital, including a young boy. Both of the dogs were killed after the attack: police were forced to shoot one dog at the scene, and the other was euthanized after the city Animal Control Center took it in.

The incident with the young boy occurred while the boy was playing in his front yard with a friend. The family's German shepherd mix escaped through the back fence and bit the boy. The dog bit the boy in the face and bit the owner on the arm.

Not long after, the same police who were called to the previous dog bite attack were called to another home after a dog attacked two adults. The dog was inside a fence but busted through as well. The pit-bull mix attacked two men. Police first tried to taze the dog, but when that didn't work, police were forced to shoot it to death.

In both situations, no one knows why the dogs turned violent, and nobody provoked either dog. The injured parties have not filed any legal claims thus far; however, police arrested the owner of the dog for disorderly conduct after the police killed his dog.

In terms of the arrested owner and his dog, state law generally governs whether or not a lawsuit can be filed for shooting a pet, which usually depends on the state's view of an animal as personal property. However, when dealing with liability for shooting a harmful or dangerous dog, gravity and imminence of the harm resulting from the pet are considered, as well as the circumstances for shooting, such as self-defense.

Continue reading "Three Injured in Pair of Dog Attacks" »

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A 6-year-old girl was hospitalized after a dog in St. Augustine, Florida attacked her. The girl was immediately rushed to the hospital and underwent four hours of surgery to treat more than 100 dog bite wounds. The young girl was on vacation and playing outside, when the dog, weighing 20 pounds more than her, attacked.

The girl's neighbor heard cries for help and came to the young girl's rescue. The neighbor was eventually able to fight off the dog, but also hurt herself in the process; the dog bit her, and she broke her toe after kicking the animal several times to stop the attack.

In such situations, it is lawful for a person to repel an attack by a dog for the purpose of defending himself/herself or third persons against harm threatened by an animal. It is important to note, however, that the law of self-defense only permits aggression for the purpose of meeting aggression. This means revenge or any action taken after an attack is over is generally unlawful. Even if an animal has previously attacked or displayed aggressive behavior, by law, self-defense is usually not deemed necessary anymore because the threat of danger is not imminent, or great enough.

If a person does intervene in a Missouri dog attack to protect another person or a pet from injury by a dog, and that person is injured, the owner of the dog will be held responsible for the injury, under the legal principle called the "rescue doctrine." The "rescue doctrine" is set forth in case law and in the statutory law of some states.

The general principle is that, where a person has negligently managed his own person, land or chattels, he is liable for the foreseeable consequences. (The word chattels is a legal term that refers to property, like a pet in this case.) A foreseeable consequence is injury to a rescuer. The court typically finds that when a person, such as the dog owner here, puts himself or others in danger, it is foreseeable that someone else will attempt to rescue those in danger, making the dog owner liable to any possible injury arising from such scenario.

Continue reading "Third Party Injuries in Missouri Dog Bite Cases" »

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A 24-years-old woman in Longville, Louisiana was killed in her home by two family-owned pit bulls while she was sleeping. One of the pit bulls was female and one male. It was suspected by the woman's family members that she may have had a seizure while sleeping and the dogs reacted to it. The dogs bit her several times, resulting in her death; no charges are expected to be filed in this Missouri Dog Bite Case.

Pit bulls are often deemed dangerous dogs. Animal People News found that 2 breeds accounted for 71% of all dog bite-related fatalities in 2007. They were pit bulls and rottweilers. Breed is one of the most important factors in determining the dangerous tendencies of a dog; however, the study also found that biters are over six times as likely to be male than female, 2.6 times as likely to be intact than neutered, and three times as likely to be chained as unchained.

It is suggested that dangerous dog owners take certain precautions to ensure that the likelihood of a dog attack will be reduced. The following are some recommendations:

1. Spay or neuter your dog- this can decrease aggression when done at an early age. The optimal age is between 6-9 months, particularly with male dogs.

2. Socialize your dog- by introduce your dog at an early age to community parks, family and friends, busy sidewalks and other animals, the less chance it will feel threatened in new experiences and the less likely it may choose to bite.

3. Exercise your dog- all dogs require exercise, but generally the dangerous, more robust breeds require much more.

4. Train your dog- obedience training trains the owner as much as it trains the dog; lack of obedience training can prove dangerous for the community.

Continue reading "7 Precautions That Can Help Prevent Missouri Dog Attacks" »

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The Texas Supreme Court recently ruled against the "first bite" rule, saying pet owners should not be freed from liability once a dog attack begins. The longstanding rule was overturned because a woman who was attacked by three dogs and suffered wounds that reportedly took two years to heal was prevented from suing the dog owners. The court felt the "first bite" rule to be an injustice in this case and wanted to prevent the same injustice from happening again.

However, Missouri continues to follow the "one bite" rule, which means that if a dog does not have known dangerous behavior, the owner is granted a degree of freedom from responsibility, but such freedom from liability is not absolute.

Dog bite victims in Missouri can also base claims on premises liability, general negligence, and negligence per se.

1. Premises liability basically means a victim must prove the owner had knowledge of the dangerous propensities of his or her dog. Laws differ based on if the victim was a trespasser, licensee (entering the owner's land with permission), or invitee (entering the land with reasonable benefit to the owner). The dog owner is subject to liability for harm to licensees if the dog presents a foreseeable danger the possessor is aware, and for harm to an invitee if the dog presents a foreseeable danger, which the owner knows or should have known.

Continue reading "Dog Bite Attacks" »

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Posted In: Dog Bite

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