South Florida Injury Attorney Blog

A relatively new Broward County ordinance intended to prevent serious dog attacks has attracted media attention recently. The “dangerous dog” law took effect in May, but is only now controversial after becoming the subject of a lawsuit. The law says that any dog, regardless of its past brushes with the law, may be impounded if it kills or seriously harms a human or another domestic animal without provocation and off its owner’s property . Once the dog is impounded, the owner must be given written notice, and the county may euthanize the dog 10 business days after notice is served. Dog owners may request a hearing for a fee of $500 per dog.

Some dog owners whose dogs were taken away under the law sued the county, hoping to have the law overturned. However, the Miami Herald reports that they dropped the lawsuit Dec. 5 in exchange for having their dogs freed. A day before the settlement, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel ran a more in-depth article on the same law, outlining some of recent serious dog attacks in South Florida, including one that sent a 14-year-old to a trauma center for five days and another requiring more than $100,000 worth of medical care for a Hollywood man. Other dog attacks described in the articles killed or seriously injured smaller animals.

I sympathize with concerns about the new law, but as a Florida dog bite lawyer, I also know how important it is to prevent serious dog attacks. A large dog may be a pet, but it’s also a predator with teeth and claws capable of killing an adult human. In fact, statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that dog attacks kill an average of 17 people per year in the United States, the majority of them children. When there’s no death, the results of a dog attack can include major physical trauma like nerve damage, skin loss (with lifelong scarring) and broken bones, as well as possible infection. In order to be safe around humans and other animals, these dogs must have their most violent instincts trained away or controlled by the humans responsible for them.

Florida and Broward County laws require dog owners to keep dogs on their property or leashed in public, and to warn passers-by with a sign if they have a “bad dog.” Dog owners who do this aren’t subject to the county’s dangerous dog law. If owners fail to control their dogs, and someone is killed or seriously hurt as a result, dog owners may be liable for both actions by the county and a Florida dog attack lawsuit. My firm, Cohn, Smith & Cohn, helps victims of serious dog attacks hold owners legally and financially responsible for the results. If you know someone who has been seriously hurt by a dangerous dog in South Florida and you’re interested in talking to us about your rights and your case, please contact us today for a free consultation.

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The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports that two Davie men were bitten by a dog in mid-November while they were trying to stop a dog attack. According to the paper, the first victim was walking a Scottish terrier when a Labrador retriever mix ran out of an open gate and attacked the smaller dog. The man and a nearby neighbor both intervened to stop the attack and were bitten. The article doesn't give details about their (or the terrier's) injuries, but it does note that the Lab's owner was cited for violating local leash laws.

That leash violation could make a big difference, legally speaking. As a Florida dog attack lawyer, I happen to know that Broward County requires dog owners to keep their dogs confined in some way -- on a leash or tether, or on the owner's property behind a fence. Leaving a gate open, as this dog owner did, is a clear violation of that law. Furthermore, if this dog managed to seriously injure the men, or kill the terrier, it could be declared a "dangerous dog" under county laws, which means it can be taken away by the county and "put to sleep" in ten days.

Forgetting to close the gate also exposes the dog's owner to a dog bite lawsuit, if the victims choose to file one. Under Florida law, owners are legally responsible for attacks by their dogs on people who are on public property. That's true regardless of whether the dog has attacked or shown any viciousness before. Dog owners may escape liability if they post a "BAD DOG" sign on their property -- but not if they negligently allow the dog to run free, or take some other negligent action. In fact, it's not just humans who are protected from dangerous dogs in Florida. The owner of the Scots terrier, or any other domestic animal harmed by a vicious dog, could also make a claim.

The newspaper didn't report that any of the people involved went to the hospital, which I hope means there were no serious injuries. But people can and sometimes are seriously injured in dog attacks, in Florida and across the nation. Dog attacks send 386,000 Americans to the emergency room each year and kill about five, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The most seriously injured are almost always children, who are left with broken bones, nerve and organ damage and lifelong physical and emotional scars. If you or someone you love was attacked by a vicious dog in South Florida and you'd like to learn more about your rights, please contact my firm, Cohn, Smith & Cohn, for a free consultation.

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A Space Coast man lost a leg and partial use of both arms after an attack by one or more of his cousin's three pit bulls. According to Florida Today, Roger Lindee was working on a car outside the home of his cousin, Anthony Phillips, just before the attack. Lindee claims he knocked on the door; Phillips says he burst in unannounced. It was then that Lindee was attacked by Kilo, the biggest of Phillips' three pit bull terriers. He claims two other pit bulls were also involved, a claim his cousin disputes. Either way, Lindee was mauled for several minutes until neighbors with a shovel and a pitchfork managed to remove the dogs. His right leg was amputated and he suffered broken fingers, a broken ankle and bite wounds that limit the use of his arms. Kilo was shot at the scene by law enforcement.

Many people don't realize it, but Florida law allows victims like Lindee to hold dog owners legally responsible for their dogs' vicious attacks. In fact, Florida is a "strict liability" state, which means owners are held liable for the first attack by their dogs, regardless of whether there was past evidence showing the dog is violent. Owners can escape liability by posting signs warning of a "BAD DOG," but they are also liable for general negligence, just like all Floridians. As the article implies, we also have local laws that can restrict or put down dogs determined to be dangerous.

Lindee's attack is a bit unusual among dog bite cases because he's 41 years old -- not 4 or 81. A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that most adults killed or seriously wounded by dogs are elderly people, who are more fragile. However, statistics show that the vast majority of victims of serious dog attacks are children and teens. Children's short stature triggers dogs' dominance urges and puts their vulnerable body parts close to the dog's teeth and claws. In addition, younger children may not recognize when a dog is getting angry, and older kids may take risks to impress one another. The results can be tragic: sudden maulings that cause death, amputations or lifelong physical and emotional scarring for a young child.

A Florida dog bite lawsuit may not be right for everyone, but for victims like Lindee, who had multiple surgeries over more than two weeks in the hospital, it can be a way to recover the costs of an unprovoked and sudden dog attack. In most cases, the dog owner's homeowners' insurance policy covers the cost of any settlement or jury verdict. If you're a victim of an attack by a vicious dog, you have the right to ask for justice. Contact Cohn, Smith & Cohn to learn more about the laws that apply to your case at a free consultation.

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