Personal Injury Blog

The parents of a San Jose teenager who was mauled and killed by a Siberian tiger at the San Francisco Zoo last Christmas have filed a lawsuit against the Zoo authorities, as well as the City.  7-year-old Carlos Souza was killed after a tiger escaped from the enclosure, and attacked him.

The incident, which we had covered on this blog last year, had sent shockwaves throughout the world.  Tatiana, a 243-pound Siberian tigress was inside her enclosure when Sousa and his two friends the Dhariwal brothers, Kulbir and Paul came upon the enclosure.  It was about 5 in the evening. Kulbir was reportedly standing on the railing that separated the enclosure from the visitors' stand, when the tigress who was in the dry moat managed to scale the wall, over the bushes and a railing, and attacked Kulbir.  She soon turned on Sousa who jumped to defend his friend.  He sustained fatal injuries and died at the scene.  The tigress then followed the two brothers to another part of the zoo where she attacked them again.  By the time, zoo officers arrived at the scene, the two boys had received serious injuries. Tatiana was shot dead by security officers.  

Soon after the incident, the Dhariwal brothers filed a lawsuit against the Zoo as well as the City accusing them of negligence, which contributed to the attack, and defamation for the reports that they had been responsible for taunting the tiger. Earlier this year, their claims for damages were rejected by the City.  The lawsuit filed by Sousa's parents alleges that that zoo was aware of Tatiana's dangerous tendencies because she had attacked a zoo employee earlier. The employee had also received injuries in that accident.  Besides, the 12 ½ foot wall that surrounded the enclosure was about four feet shorter than the one that is recommended for use for a wild animal enclosure by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.  Other employees at the Zoo had warned the authorities about the dangers of having a shorter wall for the tiger enclosure, but no action was taken. The lawsuit claims punitive damages, as well as compensation for the loss of their son, and future financial support.   The wrongful death lawsuit claims negligence, reckless conduct, and maintaining a public nuisance, and insists that as the owners of the wild animal, the zoo authorities and the city are liable for damages.

Much has been written about Tatiana's rampage after the tigress was shot down.  There have been allegations that the three friends that were taunting and teasing the tigress, had been drunk, or were high on drugs.  All this is missing the wood for the trees – the only reason this terrible mauling occurred was that Tatiana, a massive Siberian tiger who should have been under maximum security, was able to simply jump out of her enclosure.  That's a ridiculous breach of security for a zoo.  What if it had been a bunch of children outside the enclosure?  Would their behavior at the time of the incident have any bearing on the zoo's liability in this mauling?  As one animal expert puts it, the boys could have arrived at the enclosure covered in raw meat, and it still wouldn’t have been their fault.  We would blame a pit bull bite or other animal attack on the owner, and this case should be no different.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of animal attacks. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.