Findlay Personal Injury Lawyer - Dog Bites

Lucas County Dog Warden Tom Skeldon named Dog Warden of the Year

Chuck Boyk — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 19:37:00 GMT

This post, “Lucas County Dog Warden Tom Skeldon named Dog Warden of the Year” has moved. Please click here to go to the new page.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chuck Boyk

Toledo, Ohio personal injury attorney gives answers to general legal questions

Chuck Boyk — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 08:24:00 GMT

Toledo, Ohio personal injury attorney Dale Emch answers general legal questions in his Toledo Blade “Legal Briefs” column. Attorney Emch answers questions on all topics, including those on car accidents, dog bites, and wrongful death.

Dear Dale: My sister has been living with a guy for about three years. She has recently been trying to get him to leave because he has become verbally abusive and sometimes destructive, but he refuses. I would think that being abusive, which her neighbors
Answer: My initial take on this situation is that your sister probably can throw the guy out as long as some provision is made for him to retrieve his belongings.

But your question doesn’t address a few key details, so I’ll try to deal with the “what-ifs” in hopes they’ll be helpful to you or other readers. My main concern about booting the guy out and changing the locks would be if he can be construed to be a tenant who is renting from your sister. If he’s the type of guy who would push the matter on a legal front, it could be a hassle for her to get him out.

In Ohio, a tenant is someone entitled by a rental agreement to use and occupy a residence. A rental agreement can be written or oral. A tenant can be evicted in certain situations, but those evictions have to follow rules spelled out under the law.

For instance, a tenant can be evicted for such things as not paying rent or for holding over past the term of the lease agreement. In that event, the landlord must give the tenant proper notice that he’s being asked to leave and that his eviction could be sought. A complaint would then have to be filed in court and a hearing would be held.

Rental agreements also can be terminated without evictions. For instance, a landlord renting to a tenant on a month-to-month basis without a lease can end the agreement by giving the tenant a month’s notice that he has to move.

So, what does that mean for your sister? It really depends on what their agreement was when he moved in. If they formally agreed that he would pay a set amount of money each month to live there, he’d have an argument that he was a tenant. In that case, to be safe legally, she could give him a 30-day written notice that he must leave.

I’m guessing, though, that they didn’t have a formal agreement. If that’s the case, I don’t think he’d be a tenant under Ohio law, and therefore wouldn’t be entitled to the protections available under the law. He’d be no different than a guest, and his refusal to leave would be a trespass. If that’s the situation, my view is that she can kick the guy out today, change the locks, and make his belongings available to him somehow.

The problem is that in these situations there’s always a rub between the legal and the practical. It’s simply bizarre that your sister has told the guy to get out, but he won’t. He may be the type of guy who is going to make things ugly or messy before she can finally get him out the door, regardless of whether the law is on her side. If he has no rental agreement with her, she should ask him to leave again in front of witnesses, and if he doesn’t, she should call the police.

If he is paying rent and he won’t leave after getting written notice, have your sister contact a lawyer who deals with property-law issues so the process can be done in a legally proper way.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chuck Boyk

Toledo, Ohio dog bite attorney voices opposition to Ohio bill

Anneke Kurt — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 17:33:01 GMT

Attorney Dale Emch testified recently in front of the Ohio House Infrastructure, Homeland Security, and Veterans Affairs committee to oppose HB 366, which would declassify pit bulls as vicious dogs.

As a Toledo, Ohio dog bite attorney, Dale Emch has seen the extensive damage pit bulls can cause in the blink of an eye. Injuries to his clients led him to speak out against a bill that's being offered in the Ohio General Assembly that would strip pit bulls out of the state's vicious dog law. A copy of his testimony about his Ohio dog bite victims is available online if you're interested.

Here's an excerpt of Dale's testimony:

I'm here today as an attorney who has dealt with the types of injuries pit bulls can cause in just a matter of seconds. In our Toledo law office, nine of the 23 dog bite cases we're handling involve pit bulls. That's 39 percent, which strikes me as being disproportionately high when you consider how many different breeds of dogs there are in our state. I recognize this is a such a small sampling that it is statistically meaningless in the broader context of this discussion, but it gives you at least a glimpse of what we're seeing. I'll leave it to Mr. Skeldon and his colleagues to provide the statistical information this committee needs to evaluate whether pit bulls should remain labeled as vicious dogs.
I'd like to provide you with some evidence of just how much damage these dogs can do. In the three cases I'll discuss, it's worth noting that none of the attacks were provoked, nor is there any evidence that these dogs were trained to fight or that they were owned by gang members. Something tripped their switch and they attacked.

Ohio law labels pit bulls as vicious dogs and requires that owners confine them in ways that would minimize the risk of them injuring people. It also requires pit bull owners to maintain a certain level of insurance in case their dog does cause an injury. The law is not overly burdensome and its requirements offer common sense measures designed to protect the public.

Removing the vicious dog label would restrict a valuable enforcement tool that Lucas County Dog Warden Tom Skeldon and other law enforcement officials throughout the state have to control pit bull ownership. Mr. Skeldon and a group of other concerned dog wardens and police officers are leading the charge against HB 366.

Dale urges you to contact Steve Reinard, chairman of the Infrastructure, Homeland Security, and Veterans Affairs committee, as well as other members, to voice your opposition to HB 366.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Anneke Kurt

Toledo six-year-old suffers personal injury from dog bite attack

Anneke Kurt — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 18:00:11 GMT

Six-year-old Rashad Mathis suffered serious personal injury Monday after he was mulled by a rottweiler near his home, according to the Toledo Blade. The boy had dog bites to his face, mouth and ear as well as personal injuries to his arms and legs. Our Toledo, Ohio dog bite attorneys see cases where children suffer personal injury resulting from dog bites, many of which require plastic surgery, like Mathis' did.

Dog bites not only cause physical damage to children, but often times cause emotional damage as well. Personal injury from the dog bites may heal, leaving behind scars, but many kids also suffer from fear of dogs or even fear of going outside.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Anneke Kurt

Kids left unattended with pits bulls and loaded rifle

Chuck Boyk — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 04:22:34 GMT

Five children were left home alone in a house filled with pit bulls and a loaded rifle on August 28th, according to the Toledo Blade, resulting in a child endangerment charge for the kids' mother.

Alison Gilmore allegedly left the children unattended in the house the family shared with the dogs, and it was apparent that pit bull fighting had occurred on the premises. A picture window overlooked a makeshift pit in the living room, where there was dried blood, dog fighting collars and chains. Police found nine pit bulls in and around the house and garage, with one locked in a bedroom, according to WTOL Channel 11 News. The dogs had scars showing signs of fighting.

Police were warned by the children that the dog locked in the bedroom, "bites really bad." The kids ranged in age from 2 months to 9 years and have all been taken into the custody of Children Services. One child, whom Ms. Gilmore was baby-sitting, was allowed to go back to his mother.

Not only is dog fighting illegal in the state of Ohio, but it also teaches dogs to be vicious towards everything around them, including humans. According to Toledo Police Officer Barb Jackson, as reported by WTOL, "Pit bulls are basically loaded weapons."

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chuck Boyk

Dayton Animal Shelter Overrun by Pitbulls

Shannon Weidemann — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 15:46:11 GMT

The Montgomery County Animal Control Shelter is operating at 145 percent of capacity due to a recent intake of pit bulls. The pit bulls were seized in raids and need to be held while the cases work their way through court.

It has cost approximately $60,000 to care for the animals since July. Some shelter workers have been bitten by the dogs as they break up fights and move the dogs for cage cleaning. Extra employees have been hired to help care for the animals.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann