Boston Injury Lawyer Blog

A 77-year-old Wollaston, Massachusetts woman sustained serious bite injuries when she was attacked by an English bulldog outside her home. The dog, which will be put down, belongs to a neighbor. This was the second time the animal had bitten the elderly victim.

Lee Salvucci bitten on her arms and left leg during the dog mauling. Her backyard is next to the dog owner’s yard and there is no fence separating the two properties. The dog, named Cooper, managed to attack Salvucci after chewing through its leash.

Salvucci was doing yard work when the Massachusetts dog attack happened. A neighbor helped fend the animal away.

The 77-year-old dog bite victim has called the attack “traumatic.” There was blood all over her following the dog attack. She had just been to the hospital a couple of weeks ago after Cooper attacked her the first time.

A neighbor reports that Salvucci will likely require skin grafts for her dog bite injuries.

Neighbors say dog owner Eric Penzo has received a number of complaints about Cooper walking through Salvucci’s yard.

Dog attacks can be very traumatic for the victim and the injuries can be painful and scarring, possibly even causing nerve damage, infection, skin abscess, lymphangitis, impetigo, cellulites, bacterial tenosynovitis, rabies, physical disability, disfigurement, or death.

In Massachusetts, dog owners are held strictly liable for any injuries inflicted by a dog, regardless of whether or not any actual negligence was involved. However, the dog bite victim must prove that he or she did not provoke the animal and was not trespassing on the owner’s property.

Elderly dog attack victim recounts horror, Boston Herald, November 12, 2009

Bulldog Attacks Woman, 77, Twice, WCVB, November 11, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Who Is Liable: Owners and Keepers, Hugpug.com

Dog Bite Prevention, CDC

Continue reading "Massachusetts Dog Attack: English Bulldog Seriously Injures 77-Year-Old Woman " »

A 3-year-old boy who was seriously injured during a Worcester, Massachusetts dog attack is reportedly so traumatized by what happened that he doesn’t want to go home. Bartolo Colon was bitten on the face by a neighbor’s pit bull on Saturday after midnight.

Colon has cuts on his face and had to get over 100 stitches. His eyes are still swollen.

The pit bull is 11-months-old and weights 85 pounds. There are no records that the dog’s shots were updated and his owners may not have obtained a dog license for him. On Saturday, animal control officers took him away.

The brother of the dog’s owner says the pit bull is normally not aggressive at all and likes kids. Colon’s mother Andrea, however, says she has complained to the landlord of the apartment building several times about the animal. In the meantime, her son is staying at his grandmother’s house.

According to DogsBite.org, pit bull-like dogs were accountable for the deaths of 52 Americans between 2006 and 2008. They also were responsible for 59% of all deadly dog attacks. Pit bulls are also involved in most off-property dog maulings that result in human fatalities.

DogsBites.org reports that from January to June 2009 318 dog attack incidents involving pit bulls and their mixes occurred resulting in 388 bite victims.

Dog mauling incidents can be traumatic, painful, and lead to lasting physical and emotional scars for the victim. Fortunately, Massachusetts has laws holding dog owners strictly liable for injuries inflicted by their dogs. In some cases, a premise owner that may not be the dog owner but who allowed the animal onto the property can also liable for premises liability.

Dog bite victims may incur costly medical expenses from reconstructive surgeries, plastic surgeries, therapy, and other treatments.

Boy traumatized by dog , Boston.com, September 28, 2009

Mid Year Results: U.S. Pit Bull Attacks 2009, DogsBite.org

Related Web Resources:
General Laws of Massachusetts

Top Ten (10) Most Dangerous Dog Breeds

Continue reading "Worcester Boy Injured in Massachusetts Pit Bull Attack Gets Over 100 Stitches on his Face " »

In Mattapan, Massachusetts, an off-duty Boston police dog attacked a woman who was walking her Chihuahua-like pet on Wednesday. The Boston dog bite incident occurred when the police dog ran away from its handler and went after the tinier dog.

As the little dog’s 60-year-old owner tried to protect it, the Boston police dog bit her in the stomach, face, and leg. She was taken by ambulance to Boston Medical Center where she was treated for superficial wounds and her leg was stitched up.

Boston Police Superintendent William Evans says they will look into why the police dog got loose.

Dog Bites
Dog attack injuries can be serious injuries—depending on the size of the dog and type of bite inflicted on the victim. Common kinds of Massachusetts dog attack injuries include:

• Puncture wounds
• Cuts
• Abrasions
• Tissue injuries
• Sprains
• Rabies or other infections
• Crush injuries
• Fractured bones
• Facial injuries
• Sprains
• Permanent disfigurement
• Facial disfigurement
• Scarring
• Deformity
• Death

A dog attack can be very traumatic for the victim, who may become afraid of dogs or suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. Symptoms may include nervousness, depression, and seemingly irrationally fears. A dog bite victim may become scared to leave the house for fear of becoming the victim of another dog attack.

While some dog bite injuries are surface wounds, a dog mauling can also lead to serious, painful, and/or disfiguring injuries that can take a long time to recover from and may require extensive, expensive medical care. Some dog bite scars may be permanent and could seriously impair a person’s self-esteem, social life, and personality.

The state of Massachusetts has strict liability laws when it comes to holding a dog owner liable for injuries sustained by a victim during a Boston dog attack.

Police dog attacks woman in Mattapan, Boston.com, July 22, 2009

K-9 attacks Mattapan woman, Boston Herald, July 22, 2009

Related Web Resources:
So Your Child Wants a Dog, CDC

Liability for damage caused by dog; minors; presumption and burden of proof, Massachusetts General Laws

Continue reading "Boston Police Dog Attacks Woman in the Stomach, Face, and Leg in Mattapan" »

Unicef and the World Health Organization say that 830,000 children are killed around the world in accidents. Their report, the World Report on Child Injury Prevention, is the first report to gather all known information on child injuries and deaths around the globe.

The report’s estimates are acknowledged to be broad because so many poor countries are unable to collect many health statistics. The findings also take into account that there are many children who are injured or killed without receiving medical care.

According to the report, the most common causes of fatal child injuries around the world include:

• Motor vehicle accidents
• Burn injuries
• Drowning accidents
• Fall Accidents
• Poison

Other common causes of death include murder, serious illnesses, diseases, childbirth, and abortion.

The United Nations is encouraging governments to require safety measures, such as pool fences and bicycle helmets, that could save thousands of kids' lives each year. The UN Children's Fund and WHO report says use of lifejackets, childproof medicines, window guards, and smoke alarms, could also save many lives.

In the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 12,175 children are killed in accidents each year:

• US motor vehicle collisions continue to be the leading cause of death for kids 1 year of age or older.
• Suffocation is the number one cause of death among kids younger than 1.
• Drowning accidents is a leading cause of death for kids ages 1 to 4.

CDC injury prevention chief Ileana Arias says making kids younger than 8 ride in booster sides, passing graduated driver’s license laws in more US states, and barring teens from driving with other teens or at night could save lives.

In Massachusetts and other US states, these lists of common injuries and deaths can be grounds for personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits if another party was negligent in causing the motor vehicle crash, burn accident, dog attack, fall accident, suffocation accident, or another injury accident to occur.

Report Sounds Alarm on Child Accidents, NY Times, December 9, 2008

Preventable injuries kill 2000 children every day, WHO, December 10, 2008

Car Crashes, Falls Top List of Accidental Injuries for Kids, US News and World Report, December 10, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Read the World Report on Child Injury Prevention (PDF)

UNICEF

Continue reading "Leading Causes of Child Deaths Are Also Common Causes of Personal Injuries and Wrongful Deaths" »

Police have identified the man who was mauled by dogs on the Brentwood property owned by movie star Ving Rhames as Jacob Adams. Adams lived on the property and had been employed to take care of the actor’s dogs.

Medical examiners are still trying to determine whether Adams died as a result of the numerous dog bites he sustained during the attack or from heart failure during the attack.

Animal services have confiscated an English bulldog and three bull mastiffs that were living on Rhames’ property.

If you or someone you love has been seriously injured because a dog owned by someone else attacked you, you may be able to file a personal injury claim against that person.

In Massachusetts, a dog owner or the person in charged of caring for the dog can be held liable for personal injury, unless the attack victim was teasing, abusing, or tormenting the dog or trespassing on the property where the dog resides.

Under the General Laws of Massachusetts, Chapter 140: Section 155:

Section 155. If any dog shall do any damage to either the body or property of any person, the owner or keeper, or if the owner or keeper be a minor, the parent or guardian of such minor, shall be liable for such damage, unless such damage shall have been occasioned to the body or property of a person who, at the time such damage was sustained, was committing a trespass or other tort, or was teasing, tormenting or abusing such dog. If a minor, on whose behalf an action under this section is brought, is under seven years of age at the time the damage was done, it shall be presumed that such minor was not committing a trespass or other tort, or teasing, tormenting or abusing such dog, and the burden of proof thereof shall be upon the defendant in such action.

Unlike personal injury cases involving car accidents, medical malpractice, and product liability, you do not have to prove that the owner was negligent in a dog bite case in Massachusetts.

Dog bite injuries can be serious and life threatening. Puncture wounds, severed limbs, facial disfigurements, and internal injuries, are just some of the injuries that can result during a dog attack. Post-traumatic stress and depression are other side effects that can result after a dog attack.

Police Identify Man Who Died in Dog Attack at Actor Ving Rhames' Home, Voice of America, August 6, 2007

Massachusetts Dog Bite Law

Related Web Resources:

Reporting a Bite, Town of Wayland, Massachusetts

Dog Bite Statistics, Dog Expert.com

Continue reading "Man Killed in Dog Attack at Actor Ving Rhames’ Property was Caretaker" »