A 71-year old Columbus grandmother suffered dog bites in her driveway when she was attached by a neighbor’s pit bull on Sunday night. Paula Chatman was removing groceries from her car which was parked in her garage when she spotted the neighbor’s dog in her driveway. She believes it jumped over the fence.
“He was looking real frisky like he was going to do some damage and I was trying to get around him to get into the house but he kept being aggressive and I backed up and I hit the ground,” said Ms. Chatman. Her son heard her cries for help and was able to come to her rescue, scaring the dog away with a pole.
Ms. Chatman was rushed to the hospital. She suffered 35 puncture wounds, mostly to her legs.
The dog is being held under a 10-day quarantine at its home. The dog owner has been cited for failure to control, failure to vaccinate and failure to license. The dog has been designated a “dangerous dog.” Under Ohio’s new law concerning dogs, dogs are not classed as dangerous based on breed. Instead dogs are classed based on the behavior of the individual animal. A dog is deemed to be vicious if it caused permanent disfigurement or death.
“I don’t think anyone should have to be concerned with a dog that acts in that manner because had it been a child that child probably would be dead,” Ms. Chatman said.
Statistically, children are the most frequent victims of dog bites, followed by the elderly.
Clark, Perdue & List has successfully represented many victims injured in dog attacks. If you or a loved one has been injured by a dog, contact the Ohio dog bite lawyers at Clark, Perdue & List.