Florida Injury Lawyer Blawg
Dog bite cases are among the saddest and most tragic cases when representing victims and families in personal injury cases. Today in Miami, a four year-old was apparently mauled to death by a dog at 12301 SW 230th Street. The details of this horrific incident have yet to be known or released by Miami-Dade responding police officers. It seems that the identities of the dog or the dog owner are unknown at this time. A still photograph taken by a helicopter shows a teddy bear laying on the grass, and a small size sheet draped over the child’s tiny body.
The dog laws in Florida favor all victims of dog bites, making the dog owner strictly liable for the injuries the dog inflicted upon the victim. In cases involving a child younger than 6-years-old, Florida Law disposes that the child cannot be held responsible for any comparative fault. There is a standing comparative negligence question regarding the parents and the potential lack of supervision of the child which may or may not have contributed to the child falling a victim of the animal.
The tragedy of losing a child under such ignominious circumstances is even worse knowing that, so far, the dog owner and the dog are unidentified. Even if the police recovered their identity, the parents of the small child will be in an extremely difficult position to recover for their unspeakable loss.
In Florida, dog owners are not required to carry liability insurance in case their dog attacks an innocent victim. For a long time, dog owners were covered under their homeowner’s insurance coverage. But insurance companies have since made the business decision to specifically exclude coverage and insurance benefits to victims of dog bites from homeowner’s insurance policies. In effect, it means that in most cases the victims and their families will not recover for their loss.
Should you have more information about the dog attack that killed the small child today in Southwest Miami-Dade County, please contact the authorities immediately.
