Public Liability Gone Absolutely Freaking Insane!!! HE is small, black and furry - and the latest symbol of Australia's public liability crisis. A pet rabbit accused of nipping off the tip of a toddler's index finger is embroiled in a A$750,000 court case. The bunny allegedly put the bite on 22-month-old Jack Steele during a visit to an animal park. Jack's parents claim their son now has difficulty holding a Texta correctly and also suffered anxiety and shock after his painful encounter with the rabbit. But, the owner of a nut farm on the north coast of New South Wales -- where the incident occurred in August 2000 -- says the family's own medical reports show the child's finger has completely healed. Jerome Hensen said there was confusion as to precisely how Jack -- now aged 3 -- suffered the injury to his finger. "A little boy caught his finger in the wire of our rabbit enclosure," said Mr Hensen, who runs Knockrow's Macadamia Castle. "The injury was from either a rabbit bite or when his finger was taken out the wrong way. His father and mother said a rabbit had taken a bite. "They claimed the rabbit bit off the top of his right index finger. (But) we got a report two years later from a medical specialist who talks about no deformation of the finger at all, no scarring and no joint damage." Jack's father Paul is listed as co-plaintiff in a statement of claim lodged in the NSW District Court. The document states that while Jack was within an animal enclosure at the farm "his finger became caught in wire surrounding a rabbit hutch, during which the tip of his right index finger was bitten off by a rabbit". But, an attached medical report states "the bone was spared, part of the nail was missing". In a separate report after an examination in April this year, Dr John Davis observed Jack holding a Texta with his thumb and middle and ring fingers, thus avoiding pressure on his index finger. Jack's parents allege Mr Hensen was guilty of negligence. The case was due to be mentioned in court at Lismore next month. ------------ 750 grand for a bunny-bite!! WTF??? I once scraped my knee at school and am left with a little scar, so I might sue the school for $5million!! If I were the judge, I'd tell them to hit the road. Maybe I would reconsider if the kid got rabies or something, but come on, it's not like the rabbit bit his whole finger or hand off! Thoughts?? Feelings??? Other killer bunny stories???
(please use Australian accent when reading this post) Hi, mates...this is the Crocodile Hunter...and today we're going on a very spooky excursion into the world of rats with really long ears...that's right...rabbits. These little guys are VERYYYYYYY dangerous. One night, a rabbit crawled into my tent and proceeded to gnaw off my pinky toe. So we have to be very careful and use what Mother Nature gives us to protect us...that's why I sleep with pythons and other constricting snakes every night to keep those fearsome bunnies away. Little devils.
Amongst my MANY injuries, I've had two prongs of a treble hook go all the way through my eyelid (strangely, it didn't mess up my eyeball). It had to be cut out. But the most disgusting injury I ever had was from a rabbit bite. My buddy and I found a rabbit near braes bayou in our old neighborhood in SW Houston. It had to be an escaped domestic because it was all white and about the size of a small Rottweiler. We were able to catch it, and we brought it back to his house and put it in a hutch that his parents had. Presumably, it was supposed to "our" rabbit, but needless to say, he and his parents ended up taking care of it. Regardless, shortly after we found it, my sister came to the house, and I wanted to show it to her. So....I walked four doors down to my friend's house and got the bunny out of the hutch. I was holding it in the crook of one arm as I was walking it back to my house. Apparantly Sly (aptly named, wasn't he?) didn't like to be walked, so he was really struggling. Like a complete moron, I stuck my other hand in front of his face about a foot away to catch his attention. He planted his back legs into my side and lunged for my hand. He latched on with those carrot chomping teeth and wouldn't let go. I'm standing there in a neighbor's yard with what had to be a sixteen pound rabbit hanging from my hand. When he finally let go, I had this triangular piece of meat hanging from my palm. Man....I had blood everywhere, and the once white rabbit was now running around all white and red. Luckily, I was able to push the meat and skin back in place, and a few stitches and a Tetanus shot put me back in order. From then on, I relinquished my share of the bunny.
