INDIO, California  — Jonathan Rivera Diaz, 26, of Cathedral City pleaded guilty to one felony count of willful child cruelty Monday in Riverside County Superior Court for the March 6 dog attack on his 3-year-old daughter, according to new reports.

Diaz was sentenced to three years probation for reportedly failing to protect his daughter from an attack by his brother’s pit bull dog at the man’s apartment in the 33-4400 block of Rancho Vista Drive.  Additionally, Diaz pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of resisting or delaying a peace officer for his failure to state the correct details about the attack to police.

Apart from his probation sentence, Diaz is also required to perform 60 hours of community service and enroll in child abuse classes, the report said.

The attack allegedly took place when Diaz was playing video games in one of the bedrooms and his daughter wandered off into another room where he heard her scream. The dog was growling and the child’s face was bleeding when he went into the other room and found her.

Paramedics arrived at the scene to find the child with cuts to her cheek, earlobe and jaw. She was transported to a local hospital where she required stitches to close the wounds.

Riverside County Department of Animal Services located the dog and its owner agreed to euthanize the animal.

According to State Farm Insurance Co., one of the nation’s largest home insurers, they paid some $109 million to victims of 3,800 dog bite claims in the United States last year, up from roughly 3,500 claims and $90 million in payouts the previous year in 2010.

Indeed, dog bite claims amounted to some $479 million paid out to victims by all insurance companies in 2011, according to the Insurance Information Institute.

“Injuries sustained by dog bites are very painful and difficult to treat,” said leading Dog Bite Attorney West Seegmiller, founder of the Seegmiller Law Firm. “Unlike normal cuts these bites are jagged and many times involve serious life-threatening puncture wounds that require plastic surgery to repair.”

Injured victims of dog bite attacks need to seek medical attention immediately.  Contact a personal injury law firm that specializes in dog bite attacks to ensure that the dog’s owner is held accountable for your injuries.

Call us today at 1-855-ASK WEST (1-855-275-9378) to speak with our car accident law firm. Seegmiller Law Firm has offices in California including its headquarters in Irvine. We also have offices outside of Orange County to serve you in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, San Diego, Riverside and in Las Vegas, Nevada.