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Rottweiler Kills Three Year Old

By Beth Janicek

I was deeply saddened when I read this weekend of a three year old that was killed by a Rottweiler in Fort Worth. I have handled cases in the past when people have been bitten by a Rottweiller, on the other hand I have friends who have Rottweiler’s as pets and are quick to defend any accusations that their pet would harm a sole. The studies I found had Rottweilers and Pit Bulls at the top of the list for inflicting injury. Another interesting point I found was that Texas leads the nation with seven deaths last year. The research also concluded that states with the One Bite Law had more attacks than the states with Strict Liability Laws. According to research by Merritt Clifton, two thirds of the fatal attacks were the first known dangerous behavior by the animal in question. This research would infer that tougher laws in Texas like the majority of states might lead to fewer attacks.

Merritt Clifton research indicted that the pit bulls and rottweilers have more attacks and inflict more severe injury. He argues that we should not encourage people to own these species due to the risk.

“Temperament is not the issue, nor is it even relevant. What is relevant is actuarial risk. If almost any other dog has a bad moment, someone may get bitten, but will not be maimed for life or killed, and the actuarial risk is accordingly reasonable. If a pit bull terrier or a Rottweiler has a bad moment, often someone is maimed or killed--and that has now created off-the-chart actuarial risk, for which the dogs as well as their victims are paying the price.”

I do not want to ban these dogs but I would like to see Texas enact a strict liability law. It may not eliminate these attacks but is more likely to provide compensation to the most likely victim which is children. Frankly, I can’t find an argument against it.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Beth Janicek

Full post as published by San Antonio Personal Injury Lawyer on January 19, 2009 (boomark / email).