Submit your Personal Injury claim details for a free, no obligation case review.
Get Started:
Most people are unaware of the high frequency at which dog bites occur and the impact they can have on a person. Dog bite victims have become relatively common in certain towns, striking fear in residents. Every year, there are an estimated five million dog bite victims, the majority being children.
Of the millions of dog bite victims, about 800,000 are serious enough to require medical attention, and between five and 20 people will end up dying from the attacks. Even the nonfatal incidents will have severe consequences. There is often a misconception about what types of dogs will attack people.
Most people think that big dogs like Rottweilers, Doberman pinschers and German shepherds attack dog bite victims. In actuality, the number one biting breed is the cocker spaniel, though the larger dogs when biting can cause more injury and possibly death. Reports about dog bite victims attacked by a cocker spaniel are rarely heard about though, so most people continue to think the more inherently aggressive breeds are responsible for attacks.
Dog bite victims are usually attacked because of how the dog is raised and trained. While some dog bite victims would like to see their communities passing ordinances prohibiting specific breeds, communities could benefit by taking more preventative measures.
In addition to better educating communities about dog bite prevention, tips on what to do should a person become a dog bite victim can help prevent a worse scenario by limiting injuries and ending the attack. Especially children, because they are the most common dog bite victims, must be warned about not teasing a dog and setting it off, or other ways of preventing an attack. The odds of dog bites victims suffering from a fatal attack are seven out of 10 when it involves a child.
Some communities with a growing number of dog bites victims want to see stricter fines for things like not having pets properly leashes, licensed or fenced. More severe actions taken against dog owners that do not properly take care of their pets can help prevent dog bites victims later. Citing people before dog bite victims are ever attacked is the key to reducing the high number of dog attacks. Owners without licenses or rabies shots are putting other people at risk, and citations might be a way of discouraging otherwise unfit people from allowing a higher number of dog bites victims to be hurt.
Acting certain ways if confronted by unfamiliar dogs can help keep people from becoming dog bite victims. Do not make eye-to-eye contact with the dog and calmly walk, do not run, around the dog. Keep the dog in your vision as your move away.
Should the dog attack, dog bite victims’ first reaction is to try to get away with force. Animal experts warn dog bite victims not to run if a dog is running full speed after you. If the dog bite victims are brought to the ground, curling up into a ball and covering the face and head using your arms and hands and remaining still will oftentimes cause the dog to eventually lose interest.
Preventing dog bite victims can be better achieved by educating people to be responsible pet owners. Since this alone will not prevent all dog attacks from occurring, education cannot stop there.
A California woman who suffered severe facial injuries when she was attacked by an American bulldog recently settled her case for a reported $1 million in damages.
Wendy Rydberg spent several days in the hospital after being mauled by the 90-p...
A 2 ½-year-old boy and his mother recently won a $856,000 jury award in a case involving a dog attack on a Hawaiian beach. The verdict is thought to be the highest in the state's history for a » Read More
Two Cary, Illinois kids were mauled by pit bulls over the weekend, but authorities hinted the dogs'' owner is unlikely to face criminal charges because of the dog attacks. Nick Foley was in critical condition yesterday, and his friend Jourdan Lamarre w...