Animal and Dog Bites

Unicef and the World Health Organization say that 830,000 children are killed around the world in accidents. Their report, the World Report on Child Injury Prevention, is the first report to gather all known information on child injuries and deaths around the globe.

The report’s estimates are acknowledged to be broad because so many poor countries are unable to collect many health statistics. The findings also take into account that there are many children who are injured or killed without receiving medical care.

According to the report, the most common causes of fatal child injuries around the world include:

• Motor vehicle accidents
• Burn injuries • Drowning accidents • Fall Accidents
• Poison
Other common causes of death include murder, serious illnesses, diseases, childbirth, and abortion.

The United Nations is encouraging governments to require safety measures, such as pool fences and bicycle helmets, that could save thousands of kids’ lives each year. The UN Children’s Fund and WHO report says use of lifejackets, childproof medicines, window guards, and smoke alarms, could also save many lives.

In the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 12,175 children are killed in accidents each year:

• US motor vehicle collisions continue to be the leading cause of death for kids 1 year of age or older.
• Suffocation is the number one cause of death among kids younger than 1.
• Drowning accidents is a leading cause of death for kids ages 1 to 4.

CDC injury prevention chief Ileana Arias says making kids younger than 8 ride in booster sides, passing graduated driver’s license laws in more US states, and barring teens from driving with other teens or at night could save lives.

In Massachusetts and other US states, these lists of common injuries and deaths can be grounds for personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits if another party was negligent in causing the motor vehicle crash, burn accident, dog attack, fall accident, suffocation accident, or another injury accident to occur.

Report Sounds Alarm on Child Accidents, NY Times, December 9, 2008
Preventable injuries kill 2000 children every day, WHO, December 10, 2008
Car Crashes, Falls Top List of Accidental Injuries for Kids, US News and World Report, December 10, 2008
Related Web Resources:

Read the World Report on Child Injury Prevention (PDF)

UNICEF
Continue reading

Police have identified the man who was mauled by dogs on the Brentwood property owned by movie star Ving Rhames as Jacob Adams. Adams lived on the property and had been employed to take care of the actor’s dogs.

Medical examiners are still trying to determine whether Adams died as a result of the numerous dog bites he sustained during the attack or from heart failure during the attack.

Animal services have confiscated an English bulldog and three bull mastiffs that were living on Rhames’ property.

If you or someone you love has been seriously injured because a dog owned by someone else attacked you, you may be able to file a personal injury claim against that person.

In Massachusetts, a dog owner or the person in charged of caring for the dog can be held liable for personal injury, unless the attack victim was teasing, abusing, or tormenting the dog or trespassing on the property where the dog resides.

Under the General Laws of Massachusetts, Chapter 140: Section 155:

Section 155. If any dog shall do any damage to either the body or property of any person, the owner or keeper, or if the owner or keeper be a minor, the parent or guardian of such minor, shall be liable for such damage, unless such damage shall have been occasioned to the body or property of a person who, at the time such damage was sustained, was committing a trespass or other tort, or was teasing, tormenting or abusing such dog. If a minor, on whose behalf an action under this section is brought, is under seven years of age at the time the damage was done, it shall be presumed that such minor was not committing a trespass or other tort, or teasing, tormenting or abusing such dog, and the burden of proof thereof shall be upon the defendant in such action.

Unlike personal injury cases involving car accidents, medical malpractice, and product liability, you do not have to prove that the owner was negligent in a dog bite case in Massachusetts.

Dog bite injuries can be serious and life threatening. Puncture wounds, severed limbs, facial disfigurements, and internal injuries, are just some of the injuries that can result during a dog attack. Post-traumatic stress and depression are other side effects that can result after a dog attack.

Police Identify Man Who Died in Dog Attack at Actor Ving Rhames’ Home, Voice of America, August 6, 2007
Massachusetts Dog Bite Law

Related Web Resources:

Reporting a Bite, Town of Wayland, Massachusetts
Dog Bite Statistics, Dog Expert.com Continue reading