Chicago Accident Lawyer Blog

Yet again, pit bull attacks are in the news in Chicago. Thankfully this time, the attacks were not on a human. According to the Chicago Tribune, last Friday, January 6, Chicago Police Officer Kevin Keel took his police dog, Vvorra, out for training near South Loop. As they walked by a make shift shelter around 4 in the afternoon, two unleashed pit bulls darted out and attacked the 3 year old Belgian Malinois police dog. While two pit bulls darted out of the structure, only one of them managed to bite the police dog. The dog owner was nowhere in site. Vvorra was rushed to the emergency room after being bit on the thigh and nose. Her nose bled profusely. Officer Kevin broke the dogs up just in time. His police canine did not bite the pit bulls back. She had never been in a fight with other canines before.

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Let's continue with last weeks dog related theme seeing how there has been alot of dog and animal related discussions in the news lately. In the last post I explained a little about Chicago's leash ordinance,which again, basically means dogs must be kept on a leash or confined when outside their owners property and in the public sphere. Today let's focus on the dangerous animal ordinance and what defines a dangerous animal.

According to the Chicago Red Eye, Chicago defines a dangerous animal as "any animal that bites, inflicts injury on, kills, or otherwise attacks a human being or domestic animal without provocation on any public or private property." This definition includes animals that are trained to chase and have an attitude of attack, such as dogs trained for fighting. This ordinance also covers dogs used in the commercial venture to guard public or private property. However, Chicago does not include govermental or law enforcement canines in this definition.

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A horrible start to the New Year for a 62-year old Chicago jogger left in critical condition after being attacked by two pit bulls while jogging along the lakefront near Rainbow Bridge Park early Monday morning. According to the Chicago Tribune, the dogs bit the jogger all over his entire body, including his face, arms, and especially legs. An eye witness, Stanley Lee, overheard the joggers screams for help from his nearby apartment and attempted to stop the dogs. He hit them repeatedly with a baseball bat, but the dogs would not let go. Their jaws were locked in place. Luckily the police arrived soon after and shot both dogs.

Authorities have stated that the dogs' owner has been ticketed for failing to restrain them and for not having city dog licenses. He could be facing fines of up to $2000 dollars. In addition, under the Illinois Animal Control Act, dog owners are strictly liable for injuries caused by their animals. The owner claims the dogs got loose when somebody left his gate open. The owner should have been responsible enough to ensure that this gate was closed considering such large dogs where being housed. While the dogs did have collars on, they did not have identification tags on the collars, or microchips embedded underneath their skin. The owner came forward as the owner of the dogs in good faith.

Continue reading "Two Pit bulls Leave Chicago Jogger in Critical Condition" »

Pit bull terriers and rottweilers dog breeds account for 71% of fatal dog attacks according to a study conducted by DogsBite.org during a 6-year period from 2005 to 2010. Chicago dog bite attorneys, Zneimer & Zneimer have noted that the majority of the dog bite cases that they handle involve pit bulls. DogBites.org notes that pit bulls are especially dangerous because bit bulls will often not communicate their intention to attack prior to an attack to achieve a surprise attack. They also use a bite technique that is especially deadly which is to lock on to the victim with its powerful jaw and then shake the victim.

DogBites.org notes that one common scenario for fatal dog attacks is when a child is visiting in the home of a pit bull or rottweiler owner for the first time. The new situation of a visiting child in the house have shown to trigger attacks by dangerous breeds when the same dog has not shown any dangerous tendencies before the attack.

A Chicago alderman wants to toughen the city's dangerous dog ordinance after an incident that endangered residents in his Northwest Side ward. A Pit Bull that had been declared dangerous after attacking three people, escaped from a fenced yard and was found wandering near a home where several small children live.

The proposed changes to the dangerous dog ordinance include a five-year ban on dog ownership for any owner found guilty of not obeying the dangerous dog requirements. Dangerous dog owners with multiple violations of ordinance requirements over a five-year period would face a lifetime ban on dog ownership in Chicago.

A four year old boy was attacked and mauled by the family's Rottweiler on the Southwest Side of Chicago on Sunday. The boy was identified as Alex Angulo. The boy was taken to Holy Cross Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

A neighbor on the 3800 block of West 61st Street said he feared the dog because it appeared aggressive and sometimes got free from the backyard where it was confined.

A Chicago jury awarded a mailman $75,224.00 for injuries he suffered after being bitten by a dog. The mailman plaintiff was delivering mail to 501 S. Willie in Mt. Prospect when the home owner's twenty pound schnauzer got loose and bit the mailman on the back of his knee. The mailman plaintiff required surgery and incurred $58,435 in medical expenses. State Farm had offered $25,000. before the trial to settle the case but the offer was rejected by the plaintiff for being too low.

An Illinois man was charged Wednesday for failing to contain a dangerous dog with a leash. St. Clair County Sheriff's Department reported that Jesse D. Sellers was charged after his pit bull got loose. His dog attacked a boy who was playing in his own yard. The boy went to the hospital with bite wounds to his head, eyes and the back of his neck.

Three pit bulls mauled a 6-year-old boy in Chicago on Friday according to an article written by Tina Fondeles, a staff reporter of Chicago Suntimes. Chicago police officers shot two of the pit bulls but the third one escaped. The child was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in serious condition. The dog owner was questioned by Chicago police.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 800,000 Americans seek medical attention for dog bites each year. Half of the victims are children. Of those injured, 386,000 require treatment in an emergency department and about a dozen die. The rate of dog bite-related injuries is highest for children ages 5 to 9 years. Almost two thirds of injuries among children ages four years and younger are to the head or neck region. Injury rates in children are significantly higher for boys than for girl.

CDC has published a study on fatal dog bites, which lists the breeds involved in fatal attacks over 20 years Download file

A Waukegan woman was attacked by three pit bulls on Thursday afternoon. Kiara Lynn was attacked by the dogs as she walked to a gas station with a friend. The pit bulls ripped part of her ear off and chewed up her arms and legs. Ms. Lynn is recovering from her injuries at Vista Medical Center East.
As of Friday, the dogs have yet to be turned over to Waukegan Animal Control.

A four year old boy was bit by a pit bull in his own backyard and is in critical condition the Chicago Sun-Times reported Friday.

The boy was in his own back yard at 3500 block of West Cortland when a pit bull that was being kept in the same building as where he lived attacked him.

The boy was listed in critical condition at Memorial Hospital.

A child was seriously injured Thursday afternoon as a result of a dog bite, the Chicago Suntimes reported.

The pit bull ran out of an alley at about 12:45 pm near the intersection of South Western Avenue and 57th Street and bit the 11 year old boy on his neck and legs. The boy was taken in serious condition to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.

As is standard procedure, the dog was brought to Animal Care and Control where it will be quarantined for 10 days.