Blog Post

Dog Attack Claims Los Angeles Man's Life


August 21, 2007
Topic: Dog Bites

There have been numerous cases of dogs that attack strangers unprovoked, children in particular. This one has a slightly different twist. Early this August, a caretaker working at the Brentwood, Los Angeles home of Hollywood actor Ving Rhames, was mauled to death by the actor's 4 dogs - 3 bull mastiffs and an English bulldog. What makes this particular case unique - and terrifying - was that the man, who has since been identified as Jacob Adams, served as a caretaker of the dogs, and had been in charge of looking after and feeding them over the past two years. According to the Los Angeles police, there also seemed to be no previous instances of aggression that pointed to any inclination to attack. Dogs generally tend to display some form of aggressive behavior before they launch a severe personal injury causing attack.

When police arrived at the star's Los Angeles property, they found Adams badly mauled, covered in bites, and the dogs running around loose in the compound. The two bull mastiffs it is believed weighed more than 200 pounds each, and there were several other such dogs in the compound.

While investigations have been inconclusive regarding the exact cause of death, pending a toxicology report to be released later, the leading theory seems to be that Adams suffered a heart attack while being attacked by the dogs. The dog bites and lacerations all over his body weren't severe enough to be considered life threatening by themselves, investigators say.

There are more than 68 million dogs currently being raised as pets in the United States. An overwhelming majority of them will cause absolutely no harm, but the few that do send more than 900 persons to emergency rooms across the country every day. In 2005, there were at least 4 reported fatalities from dog attacks in California, the highest number in the country.

California law specifies that a dog owner does not need to be aware that his or her dog is dangerous to be held liable for an attack. If you've suffered through a dog attack or know some one who has, contact the personal injury attorneys at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.


The California personal injury attorneys at The Reeves Law Group represent victims of accidents, injuries and wrongful death throughout California from our offices in Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Diego County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County, Ventura County, Fresno County, Kern County, Sacramento County, San Fernando Valley, Long Beach, Antelope Valley, Torrance, Glendale, Bakersfield, Santa Ana, San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, Ontario, and Victorville.