Key West Injury Lawyer Blog
An officer with the Broward County Animal Care Control was viciously attacked by a dog in Fort Lauderdale Thursday, according to media.
Police were called out to a residential area around 7:15 p.m. for the attack. In a 911 phone call released by police, a woman can be heard telling police the officer, another woman, was being mauled. When they arrived, the officer was found with life-threatening injuries.
The dog was injured by witnesses who were trying to stop the attack.
The officer was in the area to perform a welfare check on the property. The dog involved was an American Staffordshire terrier mix and was “humanely euthanized,” according to reporting from The Miami Herald.
The officer was taken to the Broward Health medical Center and while her injuries are serious, officials said she is expected to pull through following the harrowing incident.
As of Monday morning, no charges have been filed against the owner. The attack is being investigated by Broward County Animal Care Control.
In the Florida Keys, — where Leesfield & Partners has represented countless clients over nearly five decades — the firm is currently handling a case of a vicious bird attack. This is just one in the dozen other animal attack cases that this firm has handled for injured clients over the years.
Leesfield & Partners
Leesfield & Partners has over 48 years of experience handling personal injury cases throughout Florida. In that time, the firm has become among the top personal injury law firms in the country, regularly securing record verdicts and settlements for injured clients and grieving families. Our attorneys are skilled in product liability claims, boating injury cases, cruise ship injuries, medical malpractice, car accidents and animal attacks.
In 2023 insurance claim data, Florida was recorded as the state with the second-highest for dog bite incidents in the U.S. behind California. The dog bite claims recorded for that year was 1,532 in Florida. Children, especially boys, between 1 and 9 years old are at the highest risk for dog bites. These children are more likely to be bitten on the head or neck, which can cause serious and sometimes fatal injuries.
An average of two Floridians die annually and 600 others are hospitalized from dog bite injuries, according to the Florida Department of Health.
What Does the Law Say?
In Florida, dog owners are strictly liable for injuries their dogs cause to other people. A dog owner can be held liable even if their dog has never shown signs of aggression before the attack.
Under premises liability law, a person must ensure that their property is in a reasonably safe condition. This includes ensuring that invitees to their property are protected from any pets that reside at the property. If a dog bites or injures a guest, the property owner may be held liable under this legal principle, especially if the dog owner knew or should have known that the dog posed a threat to that person.
Leesfield & Partners has handled numerus cases in which our clients were bitten and/or attacked by dogs and other pets and who have suffered severe and painful injuries as a result.
Previous Cases
One case involving a dog bite resulted in a $1.5 million recovery for a 77-year-old client. In that case, the elderly woman was walking from her front door to check the mail while walking her leashed dog, a 20-pound Welsh terrier. A neighbor was walking by the home at the same time with their dog who lunged so forcefully at the terrier that the neighbor lost control of the leash. In an effort to protect her pet, our client stepped between the animals, causing the larger dog to maul her arms.
Injuries sustained by the woman in the attack included deep wounds to her forearms and right elbow and broken bones in her left hand. A passerby stepped in to stop the attack.
Leesfield & Partners handled a case in which a woman who was walking down a neighborhood sidewalk in front of the home of an aggressive animal was attacked. The woman was passing by an unlocked gate when a large Chesapeake Bay Retriever who mauled her right arm and shoulder while a dog sitter refused to intervene. Thankfully a passing driver stopped and called 911.
The firm previously represented a therapist making house visits who was attacked by a large dog who bit her in the stomach, its jaws ripped through her hand and tore off an index finger.
In another case, our client was horrifically mauled by a dog who jumped out of the window of its owner’s parked car while the owner, a neighbor, was speaking to our client. Injuries sustained in that case were wounds to her forearm and leg.
In a case involving a dog bite and an animal rescue organization, Leesfield & Partners recovered $800,000 for the injured client.
More recently, Eric Shane, a Leesfield & Partners Trial Attorney, filed a lawsuit in a case in which a Monroe County woman, 83, was injured after a bird attacked her. The woman was at her community pool when the bird bit her hand, causing her to fall violently to the ground and break her hip. This is allegedly not the first time that the bird has attacked someone on the property.
That case is ongoing.
