Missouri Injury Lawyer Blog

As a Missouri personal injury attorney, I was disturbed to see a report in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about a nursing home closed because of health violations. According to the Jan. 13 article, the Whispering Oaks residential care home was evacuated Jan. 11 after its pipes froze, causing toilets to back up and flood human waste onto the floors. Twenty-nine residents had to be moved, mainly to other facilities in St. Louis and Ferguson. St. Louis County officials said the home could be reopened as soon as the sanitation problem is addressed and water is restored. However, a spokesperson for Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster said state law enforcement will investigate separately.

Whispering Oaks has 70 beds for patients with diagnoses including schizophrenia, depression, mental retardation and diabetes. At least one resident said he liked the facility because it gave him a relatively high degree of independence. However, it also has a long record of health and safety violations. Past violations include dirty restrooms and kitchen; improper handling and administration of medication; a drunken fight between residents; and a cat using a potted plant as a litterbox. In one incident, a resident fell from a ladder while trying to repair a roof gutter and needed stitches for a cut in his leg. The resident said owner Naren Chaganti asked him to do the job, but Chaganti denied this. The state is already investigating the facility because of a September report that its drinking water was not up to standards.

As a St. Louis personal injury lawyer, I hope the state is thorough in its investigation of this facility, because nursing home residents deserve all the protection we can give them. Many nursing homes are caring and well-run facilities, but a few each year are revealed as unsanitary, understaffed or even abusive. Nursing home residents aren’t always able to speak out against bad conditions or ask for help, often because of the same problems that landed them in a home in the first place. That means abuse and neglect can go unnoticed for months, until an accident like this one makes the problems impossible to hide. By then, residents may have suffered serious harm that requires hospitalization, including dehydration or bedsores; infections from unsanitary conditions; improper medication and more.

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Attacks from at least one of the family’s three dogs killed a three-year-old Johnston City boy, The Southern reported June 29. Gabiral Mandrell was found about 200 feet from his home around 8 p.m. and taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead from blood loss at 8:50 p.m. All three of the mixed-breed dogs were taken to the Williamson County Animal Control Center, where they will be held during an investigation.

According to the newspaper, Mandrell’s family thought he was sleeping on Saturday evening, when he apparently opened the screen on his bedroom window and escaped into the yard. Three dogs were loose in the yard -- two pit bull mixes and a collie mix. Authorities aren’t sure how many of the dogs were involved in the attack. Mandrell was bitten numerous times, but the bite that killed him was to a major blood vessel. The Williamson County Coroner declined to be more specific. The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services is investigating the death.

Not every family realizes it, but dogs can be dangerous around young children. One study of fatal dog attacks by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 80% of dog bite fatalities were to children under 12 -- and three were babies less than a month old. As a Missouri dog attack lawyer, I have encountered multiple explanations for this. Young children who don’t have experience with dogs may not understand the difference between playing and provoking a dog. Their small size and short stature also places their heads and necks closer to the ground, where dogs can do a lot of harm. And because of children’s size and quick movements, dogs may instinctively see them as prey, or sometimes as pack members to be dominated.

Unfortunately, the consequences of this can be devastating. Because the head and neck are the most likely targets in dog attacks, children attacked by dogs can sustain very serious injuries, including severe blood loss, nerve damage, organ damage and serious infections. They also frequently come away with disfiguring facial scars, sometimes requiring years of reconstructive surgery. In addition to the physical consequences, this can be very difficult emotionally and socially for a child.

Dogs that attack in Missouri and Illinois frequently face impoundment and euthanasia as public threats. But for families traumatized by a dog attack and facing mounting medical bills, that may not be enough. When dogs that should have been leashed or controlled attack human beings, victims have the right to hold their owners legally liable with a St. Louis dog bite lawsuit. Generally speaking, these claims are covered by the dog owner’s homeowner’s insurance, or sometimes by a landlord’s insurance -- so victims are really suing an insurance company.

Continue reading "Dangerous Dog Attack Kills Three-Year-Old Southern Illinois Boy" »

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