Boston Injury Lawyer Blog
A 14-year-old boy is in critical condition today after being attacked by two Rottweilers Thursday night.
Officers responded last Thursday, March 21, to a fenced-in backyard on Squire Road, in Revere, after the boy’s friend, 12, placed the frantic call to police. The boys had apparently scaled the fence and jumped in the yard to play with the dogs.
Police could not immediately respond to the boy when they arrived because the chain-link fence surrounding the yard was padlocked and topped with barbed wire.
Officer Mike Mullen, who is credited with saving the boy’s life, had to scale the fence while firefighters worked on cutting the gate’s padlock. He shot one of the dogs in the leg, forcing it to retreat from the boy, as firefighters sprayed the other dog with water. Mullen then picked up the bleeding boy, and ran to the boy to firefighters, who then rushed him to an ambulance.
Detective Sergeant Steven Pisano said that if Mullen had not acted so quickly, the boy would have probably died because his injuries were so severe.
According to neighbors, the boy was not a stranger to the dogs, and frequently spent time at that location. Pisano said the property’s owner kept guard dogs in the yard for two decades but had never had any complaints about them.
There seems to have been an uptick of dog attacks in the news lately. The frightening truth is that you just never know what may set off a particular dog. Dog attacks typically happen to unsuspecting individuals that have done nothing to provoke the attack, and often it is the curiosity of children who just want to pet or play with a dog that leads to an attack.
Under Massachusetts law, dog attacks are held strictly under liability law. This means that the dog’s owner is fully responsible for the actions of his or her dog. If a dog attacks someone and causes injury, then it is the owner (or the owner’s insurance carrier) who is responsible for the payment of all medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and any other costs associated with the recovery from the attack.
At the Boston and Cambridge offices of Altman & Altman, we have represented numerous individuals that have suffered injuries from dog attacks. If you have been injured in an attack by a dog, and are unsure of your next step or legal rights, call one of our experienced attorneys for a free consultation.
Original Article from Boston.com
