Elderly man suffers severe personal injuries in dog attack

Last week we discussed a severe New Jersey dog attack in which a 9-year-old girl suffered personal injuries to her arm. New Jersey children are among some of the most vulnerable individuals to dog attacks. Children may suffer permanent scarring, disfigurement, or wrongful death from a dog mauling and dog owners should be extremely careful to control their animals.

One dog attack made national headlines last week and shocked dog owners in New Jersey and across the country. The attack involved a pair of pit bulls who broke free from their fence and attacked a 74-year-old man. The dogs severely bit the elderly man’s face, completely tore off one of his arms, and almost tore off the other arm. The man lingered in the hospital for a few days but he eventually died from his personal injuries.

The attorney of the elderly man’s family said that the man suffered from massive blood loss which damaged his brain. The man was discovered by his neighbor’s son who heard the man’s moans when he let out a smaller dog to urinate.

One of the most egregious parts of this story is that the dogs were known to be vicious and the dog owner was on notice that the dogs were able to escape her yard. The dogs attacked a man last year who lived in the same home as the 74-year-old man and the dogs also attacked a 23-year-old visitor to the home last month.

No charges or wrongful death lawsuits have been reported but authorities say that they are investigating the case.

Source: The Florida Times-Union, “Pit bulls that mauled Hawthorne man involved in other attacks, police say,” Jim Schoettler, 6/12/11; The Associated Press, “Fla. man dies days after dogs tore off his arm.” 6/16/11