Family of 9-year-old mauled by pit bull says dog has bitten before, sues owners for negligence

ALABAMA -- Two weeks after a 9-year-old was mauled by a pit bull in a neighborhood in Tuscaloosa, his family has filed a negligence lawsuit against the owners of the dog that attacked him. 

The suit was filed by the victim's mother Nyeshia Strickland against the dog's owners, Dollie Scott and Christopher Guyton, through Tuscaloosa attorney Paul Patterson.

According to investigators from the Tuscaloosa County Metro Homicide Unit, the victim, Titus Wilkerson, was walking home from school when the dog attacked him on the street he lived on, Garden Hill Drive.

Captain Gary Hood, the unit's commander, said the Wilkerson suffered severe injury to his face, head, stomach and legs and was airlifted to Children's of Alabama Hospital in Birmingham for treatment. He was listed in critical condition there, but expected to survive his injuries.

Patterson said Tuesday that the victim has just been allowed out of the intensive care unit and is still in a regular hospital room.

Patterson said in addition to other severe facial injuries, Wilkerson lost his right ear in the attack and his left ear had to be surgically reattached.

"I've worked on several dog bite cases," Patterson said. "In all my years doing so, I've never seen injuries so horrific as this child has had to endure."

Wilkerson is badly scarred, and plastic surgeries to reconstruct damages all over his body will have to wait until he reaches adolescence and his skin stops growing, Patterson said.

The pit bull was taken by Tuscaloosa County animal control officers and ultimately put to death.

Patterson said Tuesday that in Alabama, pit bulls have been named an inherently dangerous breed and when they cause injuries, owners are held strictly liable, even if the dog has not been violent before.

He added that months before the attack, the same dog bit Wilkerson's 17-year-old brother on the hand. When the Strickland tried to warn the pit bull's owners of its violent tendencies, they cursed at her and sent her off their property, Patterson said.

In the complaint, Patterson accuses Scott and Guyton of negligence, wantonness and recklessness because they did not adequately secure a dog they knew to be violent. Patterson blames the canine's owners for the child's injuries, all related medical expenses, pain and suffering, mental anguish and more. He demands compensatory and punitive damages determined by a jury from the defendants.

Patterson said Wilkerson's family is greatly thankful for the prayers and aid of the community, as well as support from the boy's classmates and teammates. He also praised the surgeons at Children's who saved Wilkerson's life after the attack.

(AL.com - April 14, 2015)

Earlier:

• Pit bull that attacked 9-year-old boy euthanized in Tuscaloosa