Parents sue Pittsburgh Zoo in boy’s mauling death
May 24th, 2013
The parents of a 2-year-old boy who was fatally mauled after falling into a wild African dogs exhibit have sued the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium, claiming officials had ample warning that parents routinely lifted children onto a rail overlooking the exhibit so they could see better. The lawsuit filed Thursday on behalf of Jason and Elizabeth Derkosh seeks unspecified damages in the Nov. 4 death of their son, Maddox. The boy fell from a wooden railing after his mother lifted him up to get a better look at the painted dogs. According to the lawsuit, other zoos across the country have more and better safeguards in place to keep children safe while viewing the dogs. “We are unable to comment on any pending legal case,” zoo spokeswoman Tracy Gray said in an email. The Derkoshes’ attorney, Robert Mongeluzzi, claims that a zoo employee warned management that parents lifting their children to see through the enclosure was something that happened daily. He said the zoo reprimanded the employee and told him it wasn’t his concern. “The zoo knew or should have known how to protect its visitors from the killer dogs, and the fatal consequences that would likely result when ‘human prey’ suddenly appeared in their territory. Any chance of survival was diminished by the zoo’s abysmal emergency response plan, which included blank and useless tranquilizer darts,” Mongeluzzi said said. “Elizabeth and Jason are loving parents. They still mourn. They still hurt and will hurt the rest of their lives. They deeply appreciate the support of the greater Pittsburgh community and they are determined to do what they can to ensure that what happened to their only child can never happen again at the Pittsburgh Zoo, or at any zoo.”
