Animal attacks happen a lot more often than people realize in cities such as Boston and across the nation. In most cases, we are talking about cases that involve dogs and other common household pets, though some instances do involve exotic animals people choose to keeps pets, such as chimpanzees.
While many people have dogs as pets, and the vast majority of them are friendly, when a dog attacks a child, it can be the scariest thing imaginable for everyone involved. In some cases, these dog attacks can result in serious injury or even death. According to a recent news article from the Atlanta Journal and Constitution, one man’s dogs allegedly killed a young boy and seriously injured another young girl on their way to school. He has been arrested and charged with two counts of reckless conduct, which are both misdemeanors, but prosecutors indicated they may be filing additional charges.Authorities have said the two children were students at the same elementary school and were walking to the bus stop together. They were not related to each other, but do take the same bus to school and lived near each other. On their way to the bus stop, they were allegedly mauled by man’s pit bull terriers. This is the same breed of dog commonly used in dog fighting and is considered by many to be a dangerous breed. While pit bill owners often disagree with this classification, pit bills are commonly among the list of breeds not allowed in most apartment rental units.
Paramedics were called to the scene and rushed both children to a local level-one pediatric trauma center. The boy, who was six years of age, died at the hospital, as doctors were unable to save him. The young girl was also rushed to the same hospital, where doctors treated her, and she was listed as being in stable but serious condition. The police are still trying to figure exactly what happened. It should be noted that the defendant has only been accused of two crimes, but he is presumed innocent unless his found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt by a judge or jury.
As our Boston personal injury attorneys have seen in far too many cases, dog bites can result in serious physical and psychological damage to victims. In some cases, the victims will suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and may suffer from substantial nerve damage. They also require multiple and expensive surgical procedures, including plastic surgery. In the case of pit bulls, the injuries are often full-thickness bites, meaning they tear all the way down to bone due to the strength of the animal’s jaw.
In these types of cases, your personal injury attorney will often first check if the owner of the animal had homeowner’s insurance, as this policy may allow you to collect. If not, there are other ways to gain a full and appropriate compensation for your injuries.
If you have suffered personal injury in Massachusetts, call Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers for a free and confidential appointment — (617) 777-7777.
Additional Resources::
Boy killed, girl injured in pit bull attack on way to school, January 17, 2017, By Lauren Foreman and John Spink, AJC
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Worcester Teen Injured in Hunting Accident, Feb. 6, 2017, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog