Dog Bite

Published on: January 23, 2026

Fort Lauderdale Limits Who Can Be in Playgrounds Following Harrowing 2023 Dog Incident. What to Know.

Nearly three years after a 5-year-old girl was attacked by a dog in a Fort Lauderdale park, the city has adopted an ordinance that limits who can be at playgrounds.

The ordinance designates playgrounds within city parks as “exclusive children play areas,” meaning adults are not permitted unless they are with a child, according to reporting from the Miami Herald. At least 44 parks will be equipped with signs that outline the ordinance.

The decision comes after the parents of the child at the center of a horrific 2023 dog attack. The incident happened while the child was with her mother at the playground of Hortt Park, located at 1700 SW 14^th Ct. The two were allegedly approached by another woman and a 60-pound dog. While the two adults were talking, the animal suddenly attacked the child, according to previous reporting from the Miami Herald. Reporters noted that, according to a police report, the dog owner attempted to hold the animal back but was unable to when the dog’s “leash or collar broke.”

Published on: December 9, 2025

Boy, 7, Hospitalized After Dog Attack in Fort Lauderdale. What to Know.

By Leesfield & Partners

A dog that attacked a 7-year-old boy playing with friends in a Fort Lauderdale neighborhood has since been euthanized, according to local media.

The incident happened on Tuesday, Nov. 18, around 3:45 p.m. near 1812 Northwest 15^th Court. After he was bitten, the boy ran to a neighbor’s home for help where a Good Samaritan cleaned his wound and attempted to stanch the bleeding with gauze while another neighbor called 911.

The boy suffered a minor leg injury in the attack and was taken to Broward Medical Center.

Published on: September 4, 2025

Woman Dead After Dog Attack in Miami. What to Know.

By Leesfield & Partners

Police continue to investigate after an elderly woman was found dead Monday morning following a dog attack a dog attack in Miami Gardens, according to reporting from The Miami Herald.

Investigators have not released whether or not the woman was mauled by one animal or several and no name has been released as of Wednesday morning. The woman was found unresponsive by police around 7:40 a.m. with multiple dog bites in a lot at the 1400 block of Northwest 196^th Terrace.

She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Published on: August 26, 2025

Second South Florida Child Hospitalized After Dog Attack in as Many Weeks. What to Know.

By Leesfield & Partners

Another child was hospitalized Sunday after she was the victim of a dog attack in Fort Lauderdale, according to local media.

The girl, 2, was mauled by a rottweiler before 8:15 p.m. at a home near the 1700 block of Southwest 24th Street. Emergency responders were called out to the property after receiving 911 calls for the girl’s “numerous injuries,” according to reporting from The Miami Herald.

She was taken to Broward Health Medical Center’s trauma department by emergency personnel.

Published on: August 26, 2025

Boy Airlifted to Hospital After Margate Dog Attack. What to Know.

By Leesfield & Partners

An 8-year-old boy was airlifted to the hospital after he was attacked by a Pitbull on Wednesday.

The boy’s injuries are severe but do not appear to be life-threatening, according to reporting from Local 10 News.

First responders were called out to a home along the 5500 block of Lakewood Circle South around 11:30 a.m. The boy was locked inside a bathroom, and first responders had to force their way into the home through a window where they found at least two Pitbulls.

Published on: July 10, 2025

Hialeah Woman Airlifted to Hospital After Dog Attack Tuesday. What to Know.

By Leesfield & Partners

A woman was airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital Tuesday with non-life-threatening injuries after being attacked by a dog.

The woman, according to reporting from WSVN Miami, was a caretaker at the home where the attack took place around 11 a.m. in Hialeah. She was bitten on both of her arms.

Following the attack, the dog was detained in a cage awaiting officials with animal control after its owner surrendered it into the custody of Miami-Dade Animal Services. In footage broadcasted by WSVN, it looked as though the dog was an American bulldog. A similar dog, allegedly of the same breed, was seen lounging in a kennel in the home’s backyard.

Published on: February 13, 2025

Animal Caretaker Mauled by Dogs in Alabama While Owner was Out of Town

By Leesfield & Partners

A woman died from her injuries after a pack of dogs she was caring for attacked her while the owner was out of town, Alabama officials said.

The incident happened on Feb. 6 in Tuscaloosa County when a 46-year-old caretaker went into the property to feed the dogs.

Florida Law

Published on: September 30, 2024

U.S. Postal Service Ranks Florida by Dog Attacks. Where Does Your City Fall on the List?

By Leesfield & Partners

It’s a tale as old as time in cartoons, commercials and movies – Dog meets Postal Carrier. Dog chases Postal Carrier. Postal Carrier requests a neighborhood transfer.

As comedic as the bitter feud between man’s best friend and postal carriers might be in theory, for many mail carriers across the nation, it is a very real threat. Data from the U.S. Postal Service shows there were approximately 193 attacks on these employees from pets in 2023 alone.

In 2022, 61-year-old Pamela Jane Rock, a Florida mail carrier, was mauled to death by five dogs while on the job. The incident happened on Aug. 21, 2022, in Putnam County in northern Florida. Rock’s vehicle had broken down and she was delivering mail on foot when she was descended upon by five dogs.

Published on: September 17, 2021

$1.5 million recovered in dog bite cases with no or disputed insurance coverage

By Leesfield & Partners

Everyday 1,000 people go to emergency rooms across the country to treat for dog bite injuries, and approximately 15,000 people need to be hospitalized with life-threatening injuries every year. Florida has a 40% dog ownership rate, and many owners have more than one dog. Consequently, it is not uncommon for guests, bystanders, neighbors and relatives to be bitten while visiting the home of a dog owner. When injured, where can the victim turn to? What about insurance exclusions?

Below are five different scenarios – five cases handled by Leesfield & Partners – which resulted in the victims receiving compensation despite low odds of recovery.

Florida Law

Published on: August 13, 2014

4-year-old child killed by dog in Miami

By Leesfield & Partners

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.