Tracey Houte Rochester: Tracey Van Houte Injured In Rochester Dog Attack On A Porch At A Home On Thorn Street; Ernest Casserly Also Bitten
ROCHESTER, NEW YORK (February 26, 2020) – A woman identified as Tracey Van Houte was seriously injured in a dog attack that took place at a friends porch on Thorn Street.
Rochester police officials are saying that the dog attack occurred around 5:00 p.m. For reasons that remain under investigation Tracey Van Houte was viciously attacked by two dogs.
A friend opened the door to her home and let the dogs out prior to the attack. During the attack Ernest Casserly came to the rescue and started hitting one of the dogs with a club. He was also bitten.
Another good Samaritan used a fire extinguisher to blast the dogs. When it ran out of bursts he used the extinguisher itself. A woman also came to the rescue of Tracey Van Houte and helped her get to safety.
One of the dogs was injured and another dog ran off. Tracey Van Houte was transported to the hospital and will need therapy to learn to use her hands and arms again.
An investigation into the Rochester dog attack remains ongoing at this time.
Liability In Rochester Dog Attacks
Millions of people are attacked and injured by dogs every year. According to the Canine Journal, “approximately 4.7 million dog bites occur in the United States each year, and 800,000 of those bites result in medical care. The U.S. population is approximately 325.7 million people as of 2017. That means a dog bites 1 out of every 69 people.” Victims of dog attacks often suffer from very serious injuries including:
- Broken bones
- Lacerations
- Infection
- PTSD
Under New York’s dangerous dog law dog owners are held strictly liable for medical bills from injuries that were caused by a “dangerous dog.” According to the New York State Bar, “A dangerous dog is any dog that without justification, attacks a person, companion animal, farm animal or domestic animal and causes physical injury or death, or behaves in a manner that a “reasonable person” would believe poses a serious and unjustified imminent threat of serious physical injury or death to one or more persons, companion animals, farm animals or domestic animals, or without justification attacks a service dog, guide dog or hearing dog and causes physical injury or death.”
Any person that is injured in an attack with a dangerous dog may have legal recourse through a bodily injury claim. It’s important that victims continue to seek follow up care after an an attack. Many injuries may not be immediately present until several weeks after an initial attack. A dog bite injury attorney can examine all of the facts of your case free of cost and let you know what your legal options are.
Investigating A Rochester Dog Attack
We at Pulvers, Pulvers & Thompson extend our thoughts and prayers to Tracey Van Houte, Ernest Casserly and all who have been affected by this horrific attack. Any person that may have seen what happened should reach out to investigators. There needs to be some accountability for what happened. Someone could have easily died in this attack.
