dog bite injury

Dog-Bite Prevention Week Highlights Risks in Florida

April 10, 2019 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Florida has the second-highest rate of dog bite injuries in the nation, according to State Farm insurance data.

Dog bite prevention week is April 7-13 and is a good time to talk to your family members about staying safe around dogs.

Young children are at highest risk of dog bite injury. Our injury lawyers in Cape Coral and Fort Myers know these can be extremely serious cases, often involving facial injuries and scarring that can lead to long-term trauma and emotional problems for young victims.

WINK News reports a fifth-grader was attacked by a pit bull in Belle Glade recently. The boy was reportedly bitten at least 10 times on the face. A separate dog-bite incident in Cape Coral resulted in a child needing 31 stitches on his face.

Public Duty Exception Raised as Defense in Wrongful Death Dog Bite Lawsuit

June 22, 2017 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

While nearly 10,000 dog bites every year in the U.S. require emergency medical treatment, only a small percentage are fatal. According to DogBites.org, at least 31 people died in dog bite-related incidents last year.

In a recent wrongful death lawsuit before the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia, the widow of an elderly man who died after he was viciously attacked by several dogs while walking near his home sued the county and the county’s dog warden alleging negligence in performing statutory duty. Specifically, the widow asserted the dog warden allowed the vicious dogs to remain at-large, resulting in wrongful death. The warden was sued both personally and in her individual capacity. Plaintiff sought compensatory as well as punitive damages, alleging the violations were willful, wanton and reckless. (It should be noted that while the homeowner where the dogs resided was acquitted of criminal wrongdoing, but the owner of the dogs pleaded guilty to nine misdemeanors, including involuntary manslaughter. All the dogs were euthanized.)

The county moved to dismiss the wrongful death dog bite lawsuit, citing the public duty doctrine. Continue reading ›

Dog Bite Injury Claim Considered

March 29, 2017 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Florida’s dog bite injury statute, F.S. 767.04, indicates that people who own dogs or are responsible for controlling them may be liable if that person bites a dog – regardless of whether the dog had previously shown a propensity to bite or be vicious.

However, every state has a different approach to liability. Others don’t afford the same protections as as our state.

For example in Georgia, the law requires a finding that the owner/ controller of the dog knew or should have known it was dangerous or had a propensity to be vicious. In a recent case before the Georgia Supreme Court, justices were asked to consider whether this alleged knowledge of the dog’s viciousness was a matter of law for a judge to decide or a matter of fact for a jury. Justices sided with the latter interpretation, reversing the appellate court and remanding the injury case for a trial by jury. Continue reading ›