KEYSER – A Mineral County mother says a dog with a history of aggressive behavior attacked her 22-month-old son at a ballpark.
Larissia L. Harris filed the complaint on behalf of Jace C. Fout in Mineral Circuit Court against Ann Marie Edwards, Donald W. Edwards, Nancy McDonnell and the Fort Ashby Volunteer Fire Company in Mineral Circuit Court. Kris H. Fout and Charmaine Harris also are named as plaintiffs.
According to the complaint, the child was attending his uncle’s baseball practice on March 26, 2018, at Fort Ashby Ballpark, which is owned by the volunteer fire department. Ann Marie Edwards and/or McDonnell arrived at the park with their American bulldog named Kane in a Subaru hatchback.
Veterinary records list McDonnell as the owner of Kane, but the dog mostly was kept at the Edwards household in Fort Ashby.
Harris says the women previously had been told by members and employees of the fire department not to bring Kane to the park or have him around other people or animals “due to his prior acts of aggressive behavior.”
“Notwithstanding this, Kane was present upon the ballpark grounds and nothing was done to remove him from the premises,” the complaint states. “Suddenly and without warning or provocation, Kane jumped out from the said motor vehicle, charged at (Jace), latched onto the plaintiff’s face and would not let go.”
Harris says she witnessed the incident and tried to free her son from the animal’s mouth.
“At one point, Kane attempted to drag (Jace) by his face away from the crowd and was apparently headed toward the surrounding woods with the child,” the complaint states, adding that Harris and others managed to get the boy from the dog’s jaws. “(Jace) was bleeding profusely, and it initially appeared to Ms. Harris that the animal had ripped the child’s face off.”
The boy was taken to a local hospital and then to Johns Hopkins Medical Center. He suffered severe and disfiguring injuries to his face requiring plastic surgery. Harris said she suffered severe emotional distress from witnessing the incident.
The plaintiffs accuse McDonnell and the Edwards’ with negligence, negligent entrustment and negligent infliction of emotional distress. They accuse the fire department of premises liability.
“To permit an American bulldog to run at large at a ballfield where toddlers are present is extreme and outrageous conduct,” the complaint states. “Such conduct is worsened given Kane’s disposition and previous displays of aggressive behavior.”
The plaintiffs seek compensatory damages for injuries and losses sustained as well as pre- and post-judgment interest, court costs, attorney fees and other relief. They also seek punitive damages from McDonnell and Ann Marie Edwards.
The plaintiffs are being represented by David R. Collins of Nelson M. Michael LC in Keyser.
Mineral Circuit Court case number 20-C-20