Rantoul senior suffers broken hip after being knocked down by dog

A Rantoul woman is recovering after suffering a fractured hip after being knocked over during an attack by a pit bull.  The dog has been taken by authorities, and although the dog lived in the woman's neighborhood, no one is claiming ownership of the dog.

One strange feature of Illinois' "dog bite statute" is that it does not require that the dog actually bite the victim for the victim to recover compensation for his or her injuries.  The "dog bite statute" is formally known as the Animal Control Act, and all the it requires is that the victim be injured in an "attack" by the animal (which does not even have to be a dog) which can include jumping up on someone and knocking them to the ground.  Our office has successfully prosecuted a number of cases like that.