State agency fines L.A. more than $560,000 for dog attack at Harbor animal shelter
The state agency that oversees workplace safety has fined the city of Los Angeles $563,250 after finding that the severe mauling of a animal shelter worker resulted from "significant safety and training lapses" that put employees "in harm's way."
The city failed to protect and train staffers at its San Pedro animal shelter and also failed “to evaluate and correct overcrowding at their animal shelter, which resulted in animal attacks and bites on employees,” the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, known as Cal/OSHA, said in a statement Tuesday.
In the May 31 attack, the employee's leg "was badly mauled, requiring hospitalization," Cal/OSHA said.
Leslie Corea, a kennel supervisor at the Harbor animal shelter in San Pedro, told The Times earlier this year that she was getting a dog out of its kennel to show it to a rescue group when it “flipped out” and attacked her leg. She underwent several surgeries and told KNBC-TV that she lost half her thigh.
At the time of the attack, Los Angeles Animal Services said in a statement that it was housing 1,500 dogs in the city's six shelters but that it only had the capacity to “safely and humanely care” for approximately 800 dogs at a time.
Overcrowding and understaffing have been a problem for years in the city's animal shelters, which are chronically underfunded. Dogs are routinely doubled or tripled up in kennels or stored in hallway crates because of a lack of space.
Euthanasias surged in the shelters this year. From January to September, 1,224 dogs were killed — 72% more than in the same period last year, a Times analysis found. Some dogs are being sentenced to death not because they are seriously ill or arrive with severe behavioral issues but because the shelters cannot meet their basic needs.
The six violations of the California Labor Code that Cal/OSHA cited in levying the fine were related to the Harbor shelter's management of animals, violence prevention, training and personal protection as well as emergency response.
"Employees and their supervisors were not trained on effective animal handling and safety procedures," Cal/OSHA wrote in its citation letter.
Read more: L.A. city employee badly mauled by dog at Harbor animal shelter
City employees and supervisors did not receive adequate personal protective gear or training, and there was a "lack of an effective communication system" that delayed an emergency response, the Cal/OSHA citation said.
Cal/OSHA Chief Debra Lee said in a statement that the brutal May attack on the staffer "underscores the severe consequences that arise when employers fail to take proper measures to protect their staff from preventable risks."
“While we cannot undo the harm caused, we can hold employers accountable," Lee said. "Every employee deserves a workplace that prioritizes their health and safety.”
Representatives for Mayor Karen Bass and Animal Services didn't immediately comment on the fine.
Read more: Mayor Bass said she'd save L.A.'s shelter animals. More dogs and cats are dying
Dog bites related to the animal shelters have been a serious liability for the city.
In June, the City Council agreed to pay $7.5 million to a Van Nuys woman whose arm was amputated after she was attacked by a dog adopted from a city shelter.
Shelter staffers failed to provide written notice of the dog's bite history before it was adopted, as required by state law, according to the woman's lawsuit.
Last year, a jury awarded $6.8 million to a volunteer at the city's Lincoln Heights shelter after her arm was nearly ripped off in a dog attack. The jury found the city liable for gross negligence.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
