An Orange County, Virginia (VA) toddler was tragically killed earlier this week when she was mauled by her family’s pit bull.
The 23-month-old girl has not yet been identified by authorities, according to the Charlottesville Daily Progress.
No one has been charged in connection with this innocent girl’s death. Someone needs to speak for the victims in cases like this, and I am outraged that innocent children can be killed without consequence.
The girl apparently wandered out of the house unseen Sunday evening, Orange County sheriff’s officials told the Daily Progress. The girl’s mother was “preoccupied and did not notice the child leave the house.”
Relatives began looking for the girl, and later discovered her “gravely injured.”
The dog that killed the girl was a pit bull that was with the family for 10 years. After the killing, it was euthanized. Authorities said the dog had never given the family any other problems.
The death took place in the Mountain Track Road area of Orange County, about 35 miles northeast of Charlottesville.
The Free Lance-Star of Fredericksburg reported that the sheriff was called at 6:40 p.m. Sunday when a relative found the girl. Deputies found her unconscious and with multiple injuries throughout her body.
The girl was taken to the University of Virginia hospital, where efforts to save her continued until 9:11 p.m., when she was pronounced dead.
I hope this needless death reminds owners of pit bulls and other dangerous animals that careless ownership can have dangerous – and fatal – consequences.
About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis & Appleton personal injury law firm (VA-NC law offices ) edits the injury law blogs Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard, and Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard as a pro bono service to consumers.
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Rick Shapiro has practiced personal injury law for over 30 years in Virginia, North Carolina, and throughout the Southeastern United States. He is a Board-Certified Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy (ABA Accredited) and has litigated injury cases throughout the eastern United States, including wrongful death, trucking, faulty products, railroad, and medical negligence claims. During his three-decade career, Shapiro has won client appeals before the VA Supreme Court, VA Court of Appeals, NC Supreme Court, SC Supreme Court, WV Supreme Court, TN Supreme Court, and three times before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, underscoring Shapiro’s trial achievements. In addition, he and his law firm have won settlements/verdicts in excess of $100 million. His success in and out of the courtroom is a big reason why he was named 2019 “Lawyer of the Year” in railroad law in U.S. News & World Report's Best Lawyers publication (Norfolk, VA area), and he has been named a “Best Lawyer” and “Super Lawyer” by those peer-reviewed organizations for multiple years. Rick was also named a “Leader in the Law, Class of 2022” by Virginia Lawyers Weekly (total of 33 statewide honorees consisting of lawyers and judges across Virginia). And in September 2023, Rick was selected as a recipient of the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA) 2023 President’s Award. Although many nominations were submitted from across the country, Rick was just one of eight attorneys chosen by the prestigious National Board which certifies civil trial attorneys across the U.S. Rick was also recently named to Virginia Lawyers Weekly 2024 Virginia’s Go To Lawyers Medical Malpractice. The attorneys awarded this honor are nominated by their colleagues and chosen by a panel from the publication.
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