Although dogs often are and loving pets, loyal watchdogs and even dedicated companions, these loving pets remain animal, which means that their behavior can be unpredictable. When a Mississippi dog owner is not vigilant in keeping his or her dog under control or others are careless in the proximity of a dog, unpredictable animal behavior can lead to devastating injuries. Anyone who is in the general proximity of an unfamiliar dog should be especially cautious. T is a thing you is as big as a is an a in an as is his own will and will and will and him and him and him and him and him and him and him and him and him and him and him and him and him and him and him and him and him and him and him and him and him and you will with his or her own bills and him and him and him and him and him alone and well and him and him and him and him will him and him and him and him and his here is no way to know the dog’s temperament and the dog is likely to be nervous around someone with whom the dog is unfamiliar.
A recent incident involving a television news anchorwoman provides a telling example of what can happen when vigilance is not shown in the presence of an unfamiliar dog. An NBC anchorwoman was airing a feel-good segment about a dog that had been rescued from an icy lake by a fireman the previous day. The dog named Gladiator Maximus, an Argentine mastiff, bit the anchorwoman in the face as she kneeled on the floor with the dog to get closer to it while petting the dog. The live on-air dog attack resulted in the anchorwoman having her lip bitten off resulting in her being rushed to the hospital. Reconstructive surgery was required to reattach her lip.
The dog owner has been cited for a violation of the leash law for not having the dog under control during all times. A leash law violation can be the basis for imposing liability on a dog owner for injuries suffered in a dog attack incident based on the legal doctrine of negligence per se. The negligence per se doctrine in this context essentially imposes strict liability when a dog owner violates a leash law resulting in injury to a member of the community. When a court applies the doctrine of negligence per se, no independent evidence of negligence is necessarily required. The violation of the leash law ordinance provides the basis for finding of negligence provided the violation is the cause of injury to someone the ordinance was intended to protect.
While no indication has been made whether the NBC anchorwoman will pursue a dog bite civil litigation claim against the dog owner, it is possible that the insurance carrier for the dog owner may attempt to reduce any damages by pursuing a defense based on comparative negligence. The comparative negligence legal doctrine permits a court to reduce the amount of the damage award by the proportion of fault assigned to the plaintiff in causing their own injuries.
The basis of this defense has been by a dog expert who commented on the case. “Basically, she did everything wrong,” Ron Berman, a canine behavior specialist, said. “She went up to a dog she didn’t know–who didn’t know her–and she either tried to kiss him or hug him or put her face too close to his face. He felt threatened and bit her.”
If a judge or jury were to determine that the anchorwoman’s conduct contributed to her own injuries, her recovery would be reduced by the degree of fault assigned to her. If the judge and jury were to determine that she was 20 percent responsible for her own injuries, for example, a damage award of $200,000 would be reduced to $160,000. Because the physical appearance of a television personality the can impact her career, the damages in a case involving permanent disfigurement could be substantial.
A vicious dog attack can result in permanent disfigurement and other debilitating injuries so it is important to be extremely cautious around dogs that you do not know well. If you or someone in your family is the victim of a Mississippi dog attack, our experienced Mississippi dog bite attorneys at Barrett Law provide diligent legal representation to Mississippi dog bite victims.