Family of Georgia boy maul by pit bulls files lawsuit against dogs' owner
Justin Gilstrap (Courtesy of the family)
APPLING COUNTY, Ga. - The family of a Georgia boy attacked by three pit bulls is suing the dogs' owner for punitive damages.
Justin Gilstrap, 11, of Appling, Georgia, was riding his bicycle on Friday, January 6, when he was attacked by three dogs and dragged into a ditch on the side of the road.
"All I hear is screaming ‘help, help, help,’" Gilstrap's cousin Mason Aguilar told FOX News. "I thought my cousin was at his house playing a game. Then I see him sitting there in the ditch with three dogs and blood everywhere, saying, ‘Mason help, Mason help, Mason help.’"
The boy lost 70% of his scalp and half of one of his ears as a result of the mauling and suffered injuries across his body.
As of late last month, Gilstrap will have gone through eight surgeries, his mom, Ericka Stevens said on Facebook. The boy is expected to be at the Children's Hospital of Georgia for at least one more month before moving to another hospital for additional rehabilitation.
The dogs reportedly have been euthanized.
Justin Gilstrap (Courtesy of the family)
The lawsuit, which WRDW reports was filed on Monday at the Superior Court of Columbia County, names Burt Thomas Baker III, the owner of the dogs. The suit also names Brenda Johnson and 15 other anonymous defendants.
It claims that Johnson and Baker did not management their "vicious and dangerous dogs" and didn't take steps to prevent the animals from attacking Gilstrap.
In the lawsuit, the family says that "as a result of Defendants’ negligence as alleged herein, Defendants are liable to Plaintiff for all damages sustained by Justin Gilstrap, including his medical expenses, physical and mental pain and suffering past, present, and future, and his permanent scarring and disfigurement."
The defendants will now have 30 days to give their response to the lawsuit, which will eventually go in front of a jury if a settlement is not reached.
A GoFundMe has been established to help offset the medical costs for Justin. It has currently raised over $260,000.