Atlanta Injury Lawyers Blog

A $200,000 lawsuit has been filed against film producer Stuart Parr and his actress wife because their black Labrador Retriever has allegedly bit a woman on the left hand at a hotel in Aspen, Colorado. As a litigation attorney in Atlanta, I've seen firsthand the physical pain and emotional anguish dog bites can cause.

The incident took place while the defendants were vacationing with their daughter and their Labrador Retriever at the Little Nell Hotel. The victim of the dog bite asserts that the dog "lunged" at her, clamping down on her left hand as she was walking the hotel grounds.

The defendants' daughter pulled the dog away and told the victim that the dog was a "bad dog" after the bite happened. The injuries suffered by the claimant required several surgeries and caused a staph infection.

Staph infections are caused by a germ called staphylococcus bacteria, which is commonly found on the skin and nose of healthy individuals. These bacteria seldom cause problems or cause minor skin infections. But staph infections can be deadly if the bacterium enters the bloodstream, joints, bones, heart, or lungs.

Dogs bite around 4 1/2 million people annually. And 1 in 5 of those unfortunate enough to be bitten require medical attention. Furthermore, over 30,000 people have to undergo reconstructive surgery as a result.

Sue Gorman was in her home when a neighbor's pit bill entered through an open patio door and started attacking Ms. Gorman's two Jack Russell terriers. When Ms. Gorman tried to pull the pit bull off her dogs, the pit bull attacked Ms. Gorman, who suffered multiple bites to her face and arms. Although it took four years for her case to come to trial, Ms. Gorman finally got her day in court--and was awarded $2.2M. As has been said many times, the wheels of justice grind slowly, but they grind fairly!

The jury assigned almost half of the legal blame to the County because animal control officials took no action against the owners of the dog, despite the pit bull being the source of more than a dozen complaints from neighbors.

Most local ordinances provide that an animal shall be properly restrained when in public and the violation of one of these "leash laws" is usually enough to establish negligence against the owners of a dog which attacks. This case was complicated by the fact that the County failed to act and issue proper citations when alerted of the prior animal code violations.

Continue reading "Dog Owner and County Liable to Victim in Pit Bull Attack" »

As an Atlanta Dog Bite Lawyer, I know that dog bites are a serious public health problem that can inflict considerable physical and emotion damages on victims. Each year, more than 800,000 Americans seek medical treatment for dog bites. Sadly, half of these dog bite victims are children. In fact, in 2000, dog bites were the 5th largest cause of non-fatal injuries treated in children aged 14 and younger.

Common dog bite injuries include disfigurement, permanent nerve damage, complex trauma to muscle tissue, and severe psychological consequences. In addition, dog bite-related injuries result in an average of 30 deaths each year.

Dog bites in children, because of their smaller size, are frequently on the face. Such injuries to the face can be complex and may require specialists such as plastic surgeons, ear, nose, and throat doctors, and eye doctors. About 1 in 7 children who receive emergency treatment for dog bites to the face sustain ophthalmic eye injuries, which are more likely to have complications and need revision surgery that other injuries.

Continue reading "Dog Bite Injuries Particularly Severe for Children" »

An article in today's Atlanta Journal Constitution never mentions legal liability and dog bites, but it highlights owner responsibility none the less. According to Manning, most people believe the danger a dog poses is based on the dog owner's training and treatment of the animal. Many people still feel that some breeds, like pit-bulls, are more dangerous, but opinions differ as to whether the danger is in the breed or the attitude of the people who raise them.

Dog attacks can be terrifying and result in severe injuries, not only from the bite itself, but through defensive or evasive actions by the victim.

Continue reading "Georgia Dog Owners Need to Take Responsibility" »

A 14-year-old McDonough girl was tragically killed yesterday. According to witnesses who saw the car hit the girl was struck by a car while she was walking to her school bus stop after backing into the street when she came upon a roaming pit bull, which approached her aggressively.

According to Henry County Police Major Jason Bolton, the driver of the car which struck the girl will probably not be cited for fault, as the cause of the accident appears to stem from the loose pit bull.

Continue reading "Henry County Girl Dies in Car Wreck Caused By Pit Bull Attack" »

Over the weekend, about 9,000 veterinarians from the country will assemble at the Georgia World Congress Center for the annual convention of the American Veterinarian Medical Association. The event kicked off on July 31st, and is expected to run through August 3rd. Atlanta will play host to thousands of animal experts from around the world, who will discuss animal welfare issues, including food safety, behavior modification, and advances in veterinary medicine. They're also expected to focus on dog bite prevention.

Earlier this month, an Atlanta woman suffered serious injuries in a dog bite attack involving pit bulls. She was merely walking down the street when the dogs jumped at her. The owner of the dogs has been cited for about 20 violations, including improper restraint, canine on public property, canine on private property, failure to display rabies and vaccination tags, and failure to provide adequate water and shelter. The owner of the dog had been out of town, and a friend had been caring for the animals.

With some of the best animal and dog experts around the country gathering in Atlanta over the next couple of days, I would seriously like these vets to bring more attention to the problem of dog bites in Georgia. There's definitely a need for greater awareness, especially when it comes to the care of certain breeds, like pit bulls. I notice that too many people jump at the chance to rear these animals. However, very few possess the resources and the skills necessary to train these dogs.

Continue reading "Dog Bite Prevention Major Focus at Georgia Veterinarian Meet" »

An Atlanta area woman was brutally attacked by three pit bulls in Douglas County earlier this week while taking her morning walk on a public sidewalk. Although the dogs’ owner was out of the state at the time his three dogs attacked, Douglas County’s Solicitor-General has cited him with 20 misdemeanor charges. The Solicitor General is contemplating whether to also charge the caretaker, whom the owner claimed was in charge of the dogs while he was away.

Dogs display three types of aggression: prey, pack, and defense. When dogs are in packs, especially if not adequately socialized when they are young, they can become aggressive towards people, whether provoked or not. The “pack-mentality” is simply the social attitude of dogs and how they fit in the group, but carries with it the danger that one member of the pack may become aggressive simply because of actions by other dogs in the pack. Perhaps as this incident shows, the three dogs could quickly have been led to jointly act aggressive because of an act of the other.

Continue reading "Three Pit Bulls Attack Atlanta-area Woman" »

Preventing a dog bite in Atlanta could be simply a matter of socializing your dog. That doesn't mean that a well-socialized dog will never be involved in attacks. Any Atlanta dog bite lawyer will tell you that there are no ways to accurately predict animal behavior because it isn't an exact science. There’s much about animals, including pet dogs that we don't know, and it's impossible to completely predict exactly what will tick them off, and make them bite.

I came across a report in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution this week, about dog socialization. Socialization of dogs may be one of the many things that a dog owner can do to prevent the risks of a bite. Most emphasis on responsible dog ownership centers on feeding, training and exercising these animals. While all of these are important, it’s also essential that you expose your dog to a variety of people from an early age.

Continue reading "Get Your Dog Socialized to Prevent Bites, Attacks" »

When Atlanta animal control officers respond to the scene of a dog bite, whether it is a dog biting another dog, or a dog biting a human being, they do not have the powers to impound the animal. All they can do is cite the owner of the dog. Obviously, it's not uncommon to find victims of such dog bites become utterly frustrated at what they see as lack of punishment for the dog owner.

Last week, two pit bulls that were running loose at a home in Kennesaw in Cobb County managed to escape the yard, and get into the next home. There, they attacked the family pet, a hapless poodle, that had little chance against the pit bulls. The poodle’s owner and animal control officers who arrived at the scene, tried to pry the jaws of the dogs off the poodle, but were not successful. The poodle was seriously injured, and died.

Continue reading "Pit Bulls Blamed for Dog Attack in Cobb County " »

Atlanta dog bite lawyers have found Georgia’s dog bite laws leave a lot to be desired. First, there is a lack of complete protection for victims of dog bites. Several states have strict liability statutes, which means that the dog owner can be held liable in a bite, even if it was the very first attack by the dog. In Georgia however, there is a “one bite free” policy. For the owner to be held liable, it falls on the victim to prove that the dog was vicious, and that the owner had knowledge of the dog’s aggressiveness. Fortunately, there are other ways to prove liability under the law.

Continue reading "Cobb County Dog Remains in Neighborhood Even After 4 Bites" »

As a loving parent of two young girls, I am deeply concerned about the recent surge of Atlanta dog bite cases in 2010. As a Georgia lawyer who specializes in representing dog bite victims, I am outraged at the number of dog owners who break the law and allow these attacks to happen by failing to control their dogs. There are two things you should know up front: (1) these dog attacks (which are happening in and around Atlanta quite frequently) cause serious long-term injuries; and (2) the dog owner is responsible to the dog bite victim for all of the damages which flow from the attack.

Once a dog attack occurs, the first inquiry is: which dog control law applies? In the greater Atlanta area, there are a number of animal control laws (or leash laws) which may apply. For instance, in the Atlanta area, the applicable law which we use to establish liability on the dog owner, can be a code from one of the cities we live in such as the City of Atlanta, City of Decatur, Marietta or a county law such as the laws in place in DeKalb County, Fulton County, Gwinnett County, Clayton County or any of the other surrounding counties.

Once the applicable jurisdiction is identified, the next step is to establish the dog owner's negligence and liability for the injuries. This is done by proving that the law (or code) was violated and that the violation caused the injury. Often, this is not hard. Most codes essentially require the dog owner to either keep the dog adequately contained on the owner's property or keep control over the dog when it is off the property. Hence, with few exceptions, if the dog attacks someone (usually a defenseless child), it is impossible for the owner to argue that he complied with the law. In other words, if the dog owner had complied with the law and had the dog under control, the dog would not have been able to attack.

Unfortunately, many dog owners break the law, giving their unfriendly dogs the opportunity to attack. These attacks are often on defenseless children and result in serious injuries.

Many Atlanta children are left with permanent physical and emotional scars. For instance, as this article is being written, 8-year-old Erin Ingram lays in Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. She has undergone 3 surgeries after being attacked by two aggressive American Staffordshire terriers (Pit Bulls). You do not have to look any further than recent blogs on this site to know that this scenario is far too common. An Atlanta child being mauled by one (and often more) Pit Bulls.

These children often sustain deep and permanent scars on the face, lips, forehead, neck, arms, legs and hands. This requires extensive and painful plastic surgery to correct, if possible. Many times, it is not possible to remove he scarring and the child must walk around with these scars for life. Many young children suffer permanent psychological wounds and require long-term treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, fear of dogs, fear of going outside, and depression caused by their scarred appearance.

These injuries are severe and the negligent dog owner should be held fully liable and must fully compensate the victim's family.

Continue reading "Atlanta Dog Bites" »

Sadly, another Atlanta child has died after being injured by a pit bull. A 5-day-old baby girl was crying in her bassinet when the dog (in what investigators deemed to be an apparent attempt to help the baby) climbed on top of the bassinet and crushed the baby's skull. The baby died at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta after doctors valiantly tried to save her young life. Four other Georgia babies were being treated for pit bull bites when the baby was brought to the hospital. After a thorough investigation, the police and investigators determined that this was an unavoidable accident and not the result of negligence or the result of the pit bull being vicious or dangerous. The baby's mother was in the room seconds after the dog, but it was too late.

As we noted in a previous article, when spring arrives in Atlanta, so does dog bite season. As an experienced Atlanta injury lawyer who has helped clients recover for injuries suffered in dog bite cases (and as a concerned parent), I hope and pray that Atlanta-area moms and dads are especially careful to keep their kids out of harm's way. Please do the following if you or your child is bitten by a dog or other animal:

1) Identify the animal without risking an additional attack;
(2) Seek immediate medical attention;
(3) Find out who the animal's owner is;
(4) If the injuries are severe, consult with an experienced Georgia injury lawyer who has handled dog bite cases successfully.

A seven year-old Marietta girl was released from Egleston Children's hospital in Atlanta after being treated for over a week for injuries she suffered after being attacked by a vicious pit bull dog. In a common scenario involving dog attacks in Georgia, the young girl was walking alone when the dog snuck up on her and attacked her. The child suffered a severe leg injury and was fortunate to not have suffered other injuries that are common in these types of attacks such as bites and wounds to the face, lips, arms, cheeks and head.

The owner of the pit bull was cited under the Cobb County Ordinances for maintaining a vicious animal and not properly controlling the animal. Under the current laws, the owner is legally responsible for all injuries caused by the attack if she is found guilty of the animal control charges. While many Georgia injury lawyers are still under the impression that this type of attack is subject to the "one bite" rule (i.e., the dog owner is not liable unless she knew based on a prior attack that the dog is vicious or had a propensity to attack), this is NOT the current state of the law.

Continue reading "Marietta Child Attacked by 115 Pound Pit Bull" »