Miami Injury Lawyer Blog
A pit bull attacked a thirteen-month-old baby Wednesday morning in Dania Beach. The baby was inside the family home located at 4841 SW 44th Avenue when the pit bull, which was owned by the victim’s mother, started to act erratically and attacked the baby. Gina Carter, a Broward Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman said family members rushed to pull the dog off the baby and called local authorities. Broward Sheriff’s Fire Rescue responded to the scene and transported the injured baby to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood. The baby’s name and gender are still unknown. Carter stated that the injuries sustained by the baby were “serious.”
In the hours following the incident, the neighborhood surrounding the home was somber and quiet. One of the victim’s cousins, who was outside the family home, refused to give his name or make any statement about the attack. The family identified the animal that attacked the baby as a male pit bull. The dog was taken into custody by animal control following the incident. According to Lisa Mendheim, public education coordinator at the Broward County Animal Control and Adoption, the victim’s mother requested that the dog be euthanized following the attack. The mother was cited for failing to have proper identification tags for the dog and for not getting the dog vaccinated for rabies. Mendheim said animal control will wait ten days before euthanizing the pit bull in order to determine if the dog was infected and if he spread the disease to others. Mendheim said it is unlikely that the pit bull contracted rabies and spread it to others because he was a family pet. Mendheim was unsure if the family had other pets.
Commissioners tabled a proposal to outlaw new pit bull ownership in Broward County in February after dozens of county residents spoke out against the proposal. Last year, Miami-Dade residents voted to maintain a 23-year-old ban on pit bull ownership. According to county records, between June 1, 2012 and June 30, 2013, the Broward County Sheriff’s Office received nearly two-hundred-fifty calls related to injuries suffered due to animal bites. Of those reported injuries, seventeen were pit bull attacks, six were Unks attacks, and three were Rottweiler attacks. The overwhelming majority of the incidents–over one-hundred-fifty of the calls–were reports of attacks by an unidentified breed.
Pit bull attacks 13-month-old baby in Dania Beach, www.miamiherald.com July 3, 2013
Dog bites can be emotionally traumatic and can cause serious injuries. Dogs can carry infectious diseases such as rabies that can be transmitted via a dog bite. Dog bites can tear ligaments or can cause falls that can lead to broken bones. Further, dog bites can leave a victim with substantial scarring and disfigurement that can cause a lifetime of pain and suffering. These injuries are especially severe and traumatic for young children. The Broward personal injury attorneys are trial attorneys with over twenty years of experience. The Fort Lauderdale dog bite attorneys at the Friedland | Carmona have spent two decades helping injured victims recover the compensation they deserve for injuries caused by another person’s negligence. If you or a loved one has sustained injuries after a dog attack, call today (305) 661-2008 for your free consultation!
The Miami child injury attorneys at the Friedland | Carmona handle all types of personal injury cases throughout the state of Florida, including Boca Raton, Homestead, North Miami, South Miami, Miami Beach, Coral Gables, Pembroke Pines, Hialeah, Kendall, Aventura, Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach. The Friedland | Carmona handles all types of personal injury claims, including wrongful death, defective products, medical malpractice, slip and falls and construction site injuries. Call the Miami personal injury attorneys at (305) 661-2008 for your free consultation. Call today and let our family take care of your family!