Pit bull attack at Kinnelon garage sale permanently scarred Sparta toddler, lawsuit says
A Sparta toddler suffered permanent scars on his face during a pit bull attack at a Kinnelon garage sale last year while he sat in a stroller pushed by his mother and grandmother, his parents say in a lawsuit.
The dog named Leo bit a chunk of flesh from the face of the child, who was 18 months old at the time of the alleged attack on Sept. 24, 2022, according to the suit, filed this month in state Superior Court in Morristown. The boy's mother allegedly fought the pit bull to get it off her son. She was also injured during the attack and "splattered by the blood of her son," the suit says.
The boy's parents, Samuel and Roxanne Miller, filed the suit against Lori and Gary Gabriele and Kurt Stelzenmueller, who were handling the dogs at the Cabot Lane home where the attack occurred, according to the lawsuit. The Gabrieles own the home and the dog and held the garage sale, the court document says. The Millers' attorney, Mark Brancato, said Stelzenmueller, a friend of Lori Gabriele, is included in the suit because he was the one holding on to the dog during the garage sale before it got free.
Brancato said the dog bit off a round section of the boy's cheek before his mother was able to stop the attack. A nurse who was shopping at the garage sale placed the portion of the cheek that was bitten off on ice for possible reattachment later.
Plastic surgeons did reattach the cheek, Brancato said, but the scarring is still visible and the coloring of the reattached cheek does not match the other side.
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"As a result of the carelessness, negligence, failure to supervise, failure to control and failure to properly handle the dog by the defendants," their son was attacked, the complaint says, and "suffered significant and permanent injuries including but not limited to scarring which is permanent and will continue to be obvious throughout his lifetime."
Because the garage sale was part of a borough-wide event to raise funds for its volunteer fire department, Kinnelon and the volunteer fire auxiliary and fire company were also named in the lawsuit. The child's grandmother, Bonnie Oakley of Sloatsburg, New York, is also listed as a plaintiff.
The defendants "organized, sponsored, promoted, controlled and benefited from an event entitled 'Annual Town Wide Garage Sale,'” according to the suit, which says the sale "was advertised as a fundraiser for the benefit of these defendants."
The lawsuit says the child's mother and grandmother suffered emotional distress due to witnessing the attack. It also says the child's father suffered emotional distress damages due to witnessing his son with missing flesh on his face at the hospital.
The family has suffered "significant and ongoing economic and non-economic damages" due to "lost wages and income [and] medical expenses and will in the future suffer these damages."
The suit seeks compensatory damages, punitive damages, attorney’s fees and other legal costs as well as other damages the court deems just.
During the boy's hospital stay and surgery, both parents lost wages, Brancato said. The family is also dealing with hospital and medical expenses not covered by insurance and anticipates additional surgeries in the future, he said.
The suit was filed by the plaintiffs' lawyer, McHugh & Brancato, LLP, on Sept. 11.
Kinnelon Mayor James Freda said he cannot comment, and efforts to reach the Gabrieles for comment were not immediately successful.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Pit bull attack at Kinnelon garage sale scarred toddler, lawsuit says
