Houston Personal Injury Attorneys – Smith & Hassler

75-year old Sara Martinez is recovering from bite puncture wounds after she was attacked from behind by a dog while walking in the 3600 block of San Pedro in Houston. Ms. Martinez was on her way home around 1:40 p.m. when she felt the bite to the back of her leg and saw blood. An ambulance transported her to the hospital. The victim’s daughter Sandra Martinez said the attack was unexpected and totally unprovoked. According to Channel 11’s report of the incident, a young boy lured the dog away after the attack; the child’s family later gave up the dog to animal control. The boy’s father said that it was just a stray dog that they were keeping around.

Information on injury claims related to dog bites

Sara Martinez (75) recovering at home

The dog being surrendered to animal control

Two women were hospitalized after a dog attack by this morning at the Covered Bridge Condominium Complex at 5005 Georgi Lane in Houston. According to a Channel 2 News report, Sonny Pena’s two-year old Boxer named Rocky attacked the two women just before 7:00 a.m., inflicting serious injury, primarily to the women’s legs. A Houston firefighter who arrived to help was then bitten by another of Pena’s dogs, a 3-year old Lab named Apollo. Both dogs are now being held under a 10-day quarantine by BARC – Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care. The dogs will not necessarily be automatically euthanized: if a Justice of the Peace determines they are dangerous dogs, Pena may have to pay an annual special registration fee and carry liability insurance. Pena reportedly told Channel 2 that he was surprised by the attacks since the dogs had never showed signs of aggression before.

Assuming Pena is a resident of the condo complex and has homeowner’s insurance, the women would probably be able to make an insurance claim to compensate them for medical expenses, any scarring and physical impairment resulting from the dog attack (though of course, whether the insurer would pay is another matter).

Click2Houston.com is reporting a dog attack on a man in Porter, Montgomery County on Tuesday April 19, 2011. The attack happened around 5:00PM at Needham Road and Ford Road. According to investigators the man was attacked by two dogs while walking along the road; he was transported to Memorial Hermann Hospital in The Woodlands. A witness named Travis Huffman said he saw the man being attacked by two dogs and that the man had been forced down into a ditch. A neighbor named Marcus Pillow said the man’s arm was broken in two places during the attack and the victim’s stomach and neck were also injured. No information was released on the identity of the dog’s owners or what criminal charges may be filed, if any.

If you or a family member have been injured due to a dog bite or other animal attack, call Smith & Hassler and one of our experienced Houston personal injury attorneys will be glad to give a free consultation.

This week Smith & Hassler filed a lawsuit in Harris County District Court on behalf of a 7-year old boy from the Houston area who was seriously injured when he was attacked by a pit bull last year. The boy, who we will refer to by his initials A.W. for this article, had just been dropped off by his school bus and was walking home on a public street when the pit bull charged out of its owner’s yard, raced down the sidewalk and without hesitating attacked A.W. The unprovoked attack was witnessed by the school bus driver, among others.  A.W. was rescued by some neighbors who took him into their home to protect him from the dog, but unfortunately the neighbors were not able to get to A.W. before he sustained some nasty bite wounds to his arm. Someone called 911 and Houston Police Department and animal control investigated the incident. When the police officers arrived the dog attacked the officers, leaving the officers no choice but to shoot the dog.  A.W. was transported to hospital where he received stitches to close the wounds.

In 2009 there were 30 fatal dog attacks in the United States. The dog breed most commonly reported in those attacks were pit bull dogs (14 attacks) followed by Rottweilers (4 attacks).

The negligence lawsuit is filed against the homeowner from whose property the pit bull was allowed to escape prior to the attack on A.W. Importantly, interviews with other neighbors reveal that this particular dog has been aggressive toward people prior to the attack on A.W. The homeowner is insured with a “big name” insurance company that made a decision a little over a year ago to change the way it handles injury claims in an effort to save some money. Rather than waste additional time allowing the insurance company to review the file and make an unreasonable offer that they know won’t settle A.W.’s case, Smith and Hassler filed suit.  If the insurance company does not want to offer fair and reasonable compensation to 7-year old A.W. for his medical bills, physical pain, mental anguish, physical impairment and scarring, a jury will decide what A.W. is owed.  We should be thankful for our jury system that takes the fate of Harris County residents such as A.W. out of the hands on an insurance company and puts it in the hands of 12 jurors.

If you or a family member have been injured due to a dog bite or other animal attack, call Smith & Hassler and one of our experienced Houston personal injury attorneys will be glad to give a free consultation.

Houston police are reporting that a teenager took a pit bull dog from a neighbor’s apartment in Houston on Thursday; while the teenager was playing with the dog, a 4-year old boy shot a cap pistol at the dog.  The dog became agitated and bit the 4-year old on his face. The 4-year old was taken to a hospital and is expected to recover from his bite injury. The teenager who took the dog was arrested but police are not saying what charges he faces. Animal control took the dog into custody and will determine whether the dog can be returned to its owner or is too dangerous and needs to be euthanized.