Pit Bull Bites NJ Woman’s Face During Shelter Visit, Lawsuit Says

SCOTCH PLAINS, NJ — A Scotch Plains woman has filed a lawsuit alleging she suffered permanent facial injuries after a pit bull bit her in the face during a visit to the shelter to consider adopting the dog.

Caridad Romano, of Scotch Plains, filed the civil complaint on March 6 in Middlesex County Superior Court, naming the Township of Edison and the Edison Municipal Animal Shelter as defendants, along with unnamed shelter employees and handlers.

According to the complaint, Romano was lawfully present at the Edison Municipal Animal Shelter, 125 Municipal Blvd., on Nov. 8, 2024, when shelter staff allowed her to interact directly with a dog named "Ace," described in the filing as a pit bull in the shelter's care and custody.

The complaint states that without warning or provocation, the dog lunged and bit Romano in the face.

The lawsuit alleges Romano sustained injuries, including complex facial lacerations, a full-thickness nasal laceration, exposed cartilage, and permanent scarring and disfigurement.

According to the filing, she required emergency medical care, plastic surgical repair, sutures, and follow-up treatment, and may require future surgical intervention.

The complaint alleges the shelter breached its duty of care by failing to restrain and control the dog properly, allowing direct public interaction without adequate safeguards, failing to warn Romano of the dog's dangerous propensities, and failing to train and supervise shelter personnel properly.

The suit further alleges the shelter "knew or should have known that permitting close facial interaction with a large pit bull posed a foreseeable risk of serious bodily injury."

The complaint cites New Jersey's strict liability dog bite statute, N.J.S.A. 4:19-16, under which a dog owner or harborer is liable for damages when a person is bitten while lawfully present on the premises.

It also names the Township of Edison as a defendant under the New Jersey Tort Claims Act, alleging the township "negligently and/or palpably unreasonably permitted unsafe public interaction with the dog."

Romano is seeking compensatory damages, interest, and court costs.

— With reporting by Sarah Salvadore

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