New Jersey Accident and Injury Law Blog : New Jersey Injury Lawyer & Attorney : The Grossman Law Firm : Serving Monmouth County, Bergen County

It’s not every day that New Jersey dog lawyers come across cases where a dog had to be killed by a victim in the middle of an attack. Something like that happened in Georgia last week. A 12-year-old girl was attacked by a pit bull, and the attack only stopped when the girl’s mother grabbed a knife brick and killed the dog.

The victim Alexus Williams, had gone to a friend’s house to pick her up. When the door opened, the pit bulled lunged at her. Alexis’ mother rushed to help her.  She and another person in the friend’s house tried to pull the pit bull off Alexus, but could not do so. Alexus’s mother then grabbed a nearby brick, and struck the dog on the head. She then grabbed a knife, and attacked the pit bull. The pill bull ultimately died. 

Alexus has suffered severe facial injuries and bite wounds just about everywhere on her body. According to her mother, she has dog bite marks on her jaw, chest, arms and hips. What makes this sadder is that Alexus’ family is dealing with the fall out of a bad economy. They are already struggling financially, and finding the funds to get the kind of cosmetic surgery that Alexus need to regain her former appearance, is going to be hard. The owner of the dog has been cited for letting his dog free, but criminal charges have not yet been filed.

My heart goes out to Alexus and her family for whom this attack has come as a rude shock, and not even during the best of economic times. Alexus is likely already traumatized by the attack.  For a 12-year-old girl, the worst thing can be the thought that she may have her face scarred from the bite marks. I hope that Alexus and her family talk to a dog bite lawyer in the area who can guide them about what to do next.

Scott Grossman is a New Jersey dog bite lawyer representing injured victims of dog bite attacks in Monmouth, Bergen, Passaic and Ocean Counties, and across New Jersey.

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For five children in Winslow, it was a less than Merry Christmas this year, as they recovered from serious injuries in a dog bite attack in their own home.

The attack occurred when the five children, including four siblings and another relative were playing outside the Quann home in Winslow. According to elder sibling Brandon Quann, who is14-years-old, the two bulldogs that had apparently escaped from the neighbor’s backyard, ran up to the children. The dogs were very aggressive, and the children ran inside the home. The dogs ran inside behind them. The animals began to attack the kids, and Brandon hit the dog with a shovel to get them off his siblings. He then tried to lead the dogs out of the house by running out himself. Although he was successful in getting the dogs out of the house, the animals then began to attack him.

The owner of the dogs finally arrived at the scene, and was able to control them. They have been euthanized.  It turns out that it was the second attack involving the same dogs in less than a month.  They had been involved in another attack on the 27th of November when they managed to break out of their yard, and attack a local man, who was trying to protect his grandchildren from them.

The victims here were between 9 and 12 years old. They suffered bites and scratches, and were treated in hospital. Brandon Quann suffered multiple wounds to his hands and legs, and required hospital treatment. The dog owner has been cited for failure to restrain the dogs.

Scott Grossman is a New Jersey dog bite lawyer representing injured victims of dog bites in Monmouth, Bergen, Passaic and Ocean Counties and across the state of New Jersey.

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New Jersey dog bite attorneys frequently come across cases of serious injuries in a dog bite attack. However, a recent attack in Virginia involving a woman who was fatally bitten by a dog, has highlighted the not-so-obvious- dangers from these bites.

According to news reports, the woman, who has been identified as Theresa Ellerman, was visiting a home in Norfolk when she was attacked by an Alaskan malamute. The woman was bitten on the neck, and soon after, began to experience respiratory problems. She died about an hour later. According to police, the dog did not maul Ellerman, but bit her at least once. The animal is under quarantine, and so far, no charges have been filed. The death has been ruled as accidental. The medical examiner has confirmed that Ellerman died from a dog bite to her throat.

This tragic incident is proof of how even an attack involving the warmest and most affectionate family dogs like Alaskan malamutes, can be serious enough to kill an adult. When you hear the terms “dog bite” or “dog attack,” you think of one or more than one ferocious dogs, attacking a person in a full-on violent assault. This case seems to have been different. There were bites on the throat, and death occurred within a couple of hours.

It just goes to show that even owners of dog breeds which are not typically considered aggressive, must exercise caution while having their dog among strangers. It’s impossible to accurately predict animal behavior, and there are hundreds of dog bites every year that can be traced to seemingly harmless family dog breeds, like Pomeranians. The fact is that dog owners have the responsibility to make sure that their dog does not bite or harm others, no matter what the size or breed.  

Scott Grossman is a New Jersey dog bite lawyer, representing injured victims of dog bite attacks in Monmouth, Bergen, Passaic and Ocean Counties and across the state of New Jersey.

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As New Jersey dog bite lawyers often see, older people and children are more likely to be severely injured and traumatized by dog bite attacks. That’s why the case of 70-year-old Maria Zaldana who was attacked by a pair of pit bulls earlier this month was particularly heart rending for me.

Zaldana was apparently walking along a street on her way to her job at a florist’s in Bayonne, Hudson County, when she saw the dogs sitting on a porch. According to her friends, Zaldana is afraid of dogs, so she decided to cross the street. However, the dogs began to follow her, and soon attacked her. Zaldana suffered facial and leg injuries, and was left with portions of her scalp and skin ripped off. She was first taken to the New Jersey Medical Center and later taken into the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in Newark.

The owner of the dogs was out of town, and had apparently given the dogs to a relative to watch them. The dogs seem to have escaped from the friend’s house. The animals have been put down.

The dog owner, Jessica Manno  is now facing charges. The entire tragic incident has quickly turned into a shockingly insensitive finger pointing exercise with one of the owners of the pit bulls, co-owner Jason Reid blaming Zaldana.  Reid who says he owns the dogs along with Manno, is blaming Zaldana for provoking the dogs into an attack.

It begs the question - why would a 70-year-old woman who was afraid of dogs provoke not one, but a two pit bulls into attacking her? Unfortunately, as a Monmouth County dog bite lawyer, I see this sort of denial or lack for sensitivity -call it what you will - by dog owners very often.

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It seems to be the month for celebrity pooches displaying bad behavior. This month, singer Jennifer Lopez and her husband were sued over a dog attack on a stewardess. Also this month, former NY Jets quarterback Joe Namath had his dog declared dangerous. The dog, a Labrador Retriever named Leo has apparently bitten three people in a period of two years.

Leo must now be muzzled and leashed when he goes out for a walk, and he is no longer allowed to roam the yard outside his owner’s home. When unleashed, he must be placed in a secure enclosure, and must be locked up when Namath has company. Namath must also place a dangerous dog sign on his property. Leo will also have to wear a special dog tag designating him as a dangerous dog.

Every year, an animal control officer will visit the home to ensure compliance.  If Leo bites another person, he could be declared vicious, and put down. According to Namath’s attorney, he may appeal the sentence. 

Namath’s dogs have been linked to several reports of attacks since 2007.

• In May 2007, a UPS driver was attacked by a bunch of dogs on the property. Leo was apparently one of the dogs that bit the driver.
• In February 2009, a contractor working on the house was attacked and bitten on the wrist.
• In May 2008, a home nurse was bitten by one of the dogs.
• In August, a landscaper became the most recent victim of a dog bite on the property.

However, Namath has never admitted that his dogs ever attacked anyone. As a New Jersey dog bite lawyer, that doesn’t surprise me one bit. I often see dog owners continue to remain in a state of denial for days and weeks after an attack has occurred.

It’s also encouraging to see how Palm Beach County authorities have handled the situation. Earlier this year, the county made it possible for a dog to be declared dangerous if it attacked just one pet, instead of the earlier two. Animal control officials are also developing a website that will allow residents to see how close they live to a dangerous dog.

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As a dog bite attorney primarily taking on cases in New Jersey, I also keep abreast of what’s happening on the dog safety front in the rest of the country. I came across this report from Massachusetts, where there apparently has been an increase in the number of dog bite attacks in 2009. In fact this year, the number of victims who had to be rushed to emergency rooms because of dog bites was the highest in years.

Across the state, there was a 19.7 percent increase in the number of dog bites that ended with victims having to be hospitalized.  As recently as the 8^th of November, a 77-year-old woman had to be rushed to the hospital after she was severely attacked by a bulldog.  The dog had bitten another woman just two weeks before it attacked the elderly woman, and has since been euthanized. The woman had to be hospitalized for 8 days.

According to animal experts, it’s hard to understand why dog bite attacks have increased this year. Some experts speculate that the trend of buying dogs at online pet stores has contributed to this spike in attacks. While an offline pet store will try to match the breed of dog to your requirements, there is none of this filtering when you go online to pick up a pet dog. Very often, dogs that end up in online pet stores have behavioral problems. These issues could cause a drop in their price, and so, owners bundle them off online, where a potential buyer has no way of confirming the history of the dog. He might expect a loving family pet, but may end up with an animal with aggressive tendencies.

As a New Jersey dog bite lawyer, I would encourage people to avoid buying pets from online stores, where you have little way of confirming the dog’s behavioral history before it ends up in your home.

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I came across this story as I was getting my daily dose of dog safety and injury news from New Jersey and around the country. Actress/pop star Jennifer Lopez and her singer husband Marc Anthony are being sued for $3 million after their dog attacked a stewardess on a plane.

The stewardess, Lisa Wilson says she was attacked by the military-trained guard dog named Floyd, as she was heading toward the star couple carrying some cutlery. Wilson alleges that she heard Floyd growling and the dog then lunged at her. Wilson fell to the floor, and sustained serious back injuries.

Meanwhile, the veterinarian who has been hired by Wilson’s dog bite lawyers, says that the guard dog was dangerous because of his military training, and that Anthony was probably aware that the dog could be dangerous. According to Wilson, she was told to be careful while around Floyd, and not to make any eye contact with him. In fact, even Anthony’s own daughter was instructed not to look into the dog’s eyes. This shows that Anthony was aware that the dog was not entirely safe in the presence of people. The veterinarian says the dog should have been counseled to blunt some of its aggressive tendencies.

Nothing in Floyd’s behavior suggests that he was a warm and family pet who should have been allowed unleashed among strangers. We can expect a passionate defense of Floyd as the Lopez/Anthony lawyers try to present the pooch as a friendly and safe pet.

It’s not surprising to see that celebrities are just as clueless about responsible dog ownership as some of the owners New Jersey dog bite lawyers frequently across.

Scott Grossman is a New Jersey dog bite lawyer, representing injured victims of dog attacks in Monmouth, Bergen, Passaic and Ocean Counties, and across the state of New Jersey.

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Image Courtesy: Flickr - OctopusHat 

February's horrific animal attack in which a chimpanzee attacked a woman in Connecticut leaving her with severe facial injuries, has again stirred debate on the laws governing the keeping of exotic pets.

The woman, Charla Nash was admitted to the Cleveland Clinic after sustaining severe injuries in the attack, when her friend Sandra Herold’s 200-pound chimpanzee Travis attacked her. 911 calls that a panic-stricken Herold made illustrate the brutality of the attack as Travis went after Nash. Emergency medical crew who responded to the scene found Nash in the driveway, and the extent of the mauling made it hard for them to tell if Nash was a man or woman. 

The Hartford Courant says that there have been earlier concerns about Travis being out of control. An animal control officer has come forward to report an earlier incident when Travis managed to get out of Herold's car and hold traffic up for hours. The officer Lynn DellaBianca had warned Herold that Travis needed to be kept under control. According to DellaBianca, Harold agreed that Travis would one day have to leave for a sanctuary because he would naturally get more aggressive, and difficult to handle as he got older. Another former Stamford resident has come forward to say that she had made a police complaint in 1996 when Travis bit her. It appears that Travis had begun to display his natural wild tendencies, and Herold should have been alert to the danger that he posed to others.

Connecticut laws allowed Herold to own and keep a chimpanzee as a pet. Now, calls for stricter regulations about keeping exotic pets are getting louder. In New Jersey, our exotic animal laws only allow keeping of exotic pets after an extensive background check of the owner. The New Jersey Exotic Animal Law includes several categories of mammals, birds and primates. The laws lay out strict criteria for granting of permits to own and keep a dangerous animal species. These criteria not only include a thorough check of the person's background and education, but will also confirm that the person has extensive experience handling that animal species. This expertise must include knowledge of how to handle and care for the animal. Besides, the person must have access to well constructed housing with enough barriers to prevent the animal from having any contact with public. These laws mean that fortunately it's harder for Jerseyans to keep an exotic, and possibly dangerous pet, and even rarer that we would have a incident like the one that occurred here.

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A dog attack can not only be physically painful but also emotionally scarring. According to a Rush PR News article there are several ways to prevent a dog attack and how to handle your self if involved in one. “Avoid making eye contact with the dog. Dogs perceive eye contact as a challenge and a threat. Look slightly down or aside of the dog, but keep him in your vision. Avoid smiling at the dog. You may be putting on a friendly face, but an aggressive dog sees you baring your teeth for a fight. Look for warning signs. Most dogs are not aggressive but rather just curious or defending what they perceive as their territory. It is important to be able to tell if a dog is just playing or is being truly aggressive. If the dog approaches you with its head held high or low, it is probably not going to attack. A dog whose head is level means business.” There are many more tips on how to prevent a dog attack and what to do after involved in one in the article.

            As a dog bite attorney lawyer covering Freehold, Manalapan, Marlboro, Howell, Jackson, Paterson and all of central and northern New Jersey and know how physically painful and emotionally traumatizing a dog bite can be. The article cited above provides a lot of good information on how to handle dog bite attacks and how to care for the injury afterwards. Some important statistics cited are “In the US alone, nearly 5 million people are attacked by dogs per year, and 1,000 people go to emergency rooms per day as a result of a dog attack; many of them are children, and about half of them have been bitten in the face.” Dog attacks are a serious problem throughout the country and New Jersey is no different. I suggest reading the article several times so you can be well informed on what to do if a situation arises. I hope this information can be useful to your family and friends in helping to prevent dog bite attacks.

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