Preventing unnecessary dangers, permanent and disabling injuries to airport workers, passengers and airline employees is the reason behind United and Continental’s PetSafe program
United Airlines confirmed its adoption of the Continental Airlines Pet Safe program as the merger of the two carriers became official last month. The Pet Safe program, which had been in place for several years, bans nine dog breeds on planes, including the American Pit Bull and Corso. Both of those breeds have caused permanent injury after prolonged attacks on ABRAMS LANDAU clients. Clients of this Herndon law firm have been postal workers, FedEx delivery crew and police as well as children. What is disturbing to multistate dog attack lawyer Doug Landau is that these dog bites occur to uniformed workers. At the airports, those in uniform are placed at unnecessary risk of permanent injury if required to transport dangerous animals.
The Airlines’ actions are not without reason. From the perspective of United Airlines, the decision was based, in part, on an incident which occurred on a 2002 American Airlines flight
from San Diego to New York. A dog identified as a Pit Bull broke out of its kennel and wreaked havoc in the cargo hold. This Pit Bull chewed through the plane’s electrical system, causing a potential safety issue, not to mention thousands of dollars in damage. Had the plane crashed and the souls inside been lost, there would have been significant litigation against the air carrier. According to sources at United Airlines, similar events have occurred in recent years on other airlines, in which dogs identified as Pits have escaped from their kennels in flight and chewed wiring on the planes.
Herndon airport injury lawyer Doug Landau agrees with the
Airlines’ policy regarding dangerous dogs, primates (monkeys and apes) and other animals. Pit Bulls were
bred by the Romans to fight and their massively strong jaws made them effective against larger animals in spectacles in the Roman Colloseum. Lawyer Landau was also taught that the monkeys he worked with at the laboratories of Columbia Presbyterian Neurological Institute could kill him if they escaped. Because of the seriousness of the injuries that could be inflicted, reason dictates that these risks should be eliminated as much as possible. The greater the harm that can be caused, the greater the precautions that must be taken. To those dog owners who say this police is unfair, or “breed profiling,” I respond that it is no more unjust than allowing concealed pistol permits but not bazooka or flame thrower permits.
If you or someone you know or care for has been injured as the result of a dog bite or other animal attack, and there are questions about what laws apply, e-mail or call us at ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. (703-796-9555) at once.
