San Diego Personal Injury Lawyers Blog

The San Diego Union-Tribune has reported that Emako Mendoza (75 years old) was mauled at her Paradise Hills home by her neighbor's two pit bull dogs.Saturday morning. She was transported to Scripps Mercy Hospital, underwent one leg amputation, and may lose her left arm, according to her husband and authorities.

The dog bite attack occurred at approximately 6:30 a.m. while Mrs. Mendoza was inside the fenced back yard of her home in Paradise Hills. Her husband, Frank Mendoza, was asleep as his wife went to the back yard to get the paper, which she did every morning. He was awakened by the constant ringing sound of his doorbell. He ran outside, found his wife lying bloodied on the ground, and called 9-1-1.

The neighbors' dogs had apparently entered the Mendozas' backyard through a hole in the fence. The put bulls were subsequently surrended to San Diego County Animal Control and euthanized.

Pit Bull Attacks & Legal Rights

Dog bite injuries are unfortunately common with certain breeds of dogs - in particular, pit bulls. These dogs cause serious injuries and attack people, often because of their aggressive nature and the power of their bite. Typically, a pit bull does not bite just once, but continues to attack until its prey succumbs.

California has a strict liability dog bite statute which states that the owner of a dog is liable for damages (injuries) inflicted by his/her dog if it b ites a person who is either in a public place or lawfully in a private place, including the property of the owner of the dog, regardless of the former viciousness of the dog or the owner's knowledge of such viciousness (California Civil Code Section 3342).

The dog owner is strictly liable, regardless of whether the dog had ever bitten before or shown aggressive tendencies. In California, a dog does not get "one bite free."