Mansfield – Earlier this month a 7-year-old boy was transported to Akron Children's Hospital after being mauled by a boxer that belonged to his friend's family.
A neighbor said that he saw the victim running by himself crying and screaming down the street; however, he thought the boy had fallen down or something similar. The neighbor had been outside raking leaves at the time of the incident.
According to Richland County Dog Warden Dave Jordan, the 7-year-old victim walked to his friend's home on Poplar Street, just a couple of doors down from where he lived, to play.
When the victim came to the door, the dog started growling at him. The boy that lives at the home grabbed the dog, and at that point the dog began nipping at him, so he let go of the dog and that's when the dog ran outside and attacked the neighbor boy, said Jordan.
The victim's grandmother, who came to his house to watch his siblings while his mother tended to her son's injuries, said that her grandson had a cut on top of his head, and a cut to the back of his head and below his eye. She said that her grandson may need plastic surgery due to the extent of his injuries.
The dog's owner's girlfriend had been home at the time of the attack, and she was charged with failure to maintain a dangerous dog. According to the Richland County Dog Warden, no other charges will be filed. The boxer that attacked the boy is named Max and he is 4-years-old, he is to be euthanized at the request of his owners.
The 7-year-old victim plays at the house often and is a familiar face to Max; however, this is the first time such an attack has happened. The victim's mother said that her son was, "cut up pretty bad." Another neighbor who lives across the street said that the police have been called to the house multiple times for excessive barking. The dog "Max" is licensed, and he had never attacked a person before this incident. Jordan said that he's been doing this job a long time and he wouldn't feel safe having this dog around children.
At DiCaudo, Pitchford & Yoder, we have 20 years of combined experience working in the legal field. Recently, there have been multiple incidents involving dog bites and attacks in the Akron area, most of which involve young children. Our firm has extensive experience handling dog bite cases and we are intimately familiar with Ohio's dog bite laws, as well as our clients' rights in such cases.
Often times when someone is injured by a dangerous dog, we can pursue compensation from the homeowner's property insurance policy, or from a renter's insurance policy, or even in some cases from an auto insurance policy. If there aren't any insurance policies available to pay for damages, there are other avenues for pursuing compensation in these types of cases.
Dog bites can cost thousands in medical bills, and in some cases they can require multiple reconstruction surgeries, or even psychological counseling for the victim, which can be costly. If you were a victim of a dog bite, or if your child was a victim in such an attack, we urge you to
contact an attorney from our office right away to find out if you have grounds for compensation in a
personal injury claim.