Dog Bite Injury Statistics
Table of Contents:
California animal bites attorneys report that according to the CDC dog bite injury statistics, someone in the United States
must get medical attention for a dog bite every 40 seconds. California dog bite laws often come into play. At least 800,000 people receive dog or pet bites yearly in the U.S.
So if you aren’t interested in thwarting dog attacks, you could become injured. Also, most of these dog bites need immediate medical care and emergency treatment. Most of the bite victims are children. The majority of human victims get mauled or bitten on their faces. Almost $165 million is spent treating dog bites. 70% of dog bites occur on the animal owner’s property.
CDC Dog Bite Injury Statistics.
Important: Dog bites result in approximately 44,000 facial injuries each year. So this represents between 0.5% and 1.5% of all hospital emergency room visits. Male patients outnumber females only slightly. Unfortunately, children are 60% of all dog bite victims. In children less than ten years of age, severe injuries occur almost exclusively.
The most frequent target is the face (77% of all casualties). 97% of attacks to mail carriers happen to lower extremities like the legs or feet. Each spring brings a new crop of horrible injuries. The average stay of severely injured patients is 4.2 days. Eighteen deaths a year are caused by dog bites.
What are the Various Types of Dog Attack Personal Injuries?
Dog bites usually result in cuts and lacerations, abrasions, crushing wounds, degloving, punctures, broken bones, crushed eye sockets, crushed skulls and even severe brain injuries. These types of injuries often result in permanent scars. Among the areas of the face targeted include the lips, nose, chin, and cheeks. As dog ownership increases, so do the number of dog attacks and maulings.
Most owners are unaware of how to properly care for larger and more aggressive breeds of dogs, and many do not want to know. Several owners keep larger breeds for the “gangster” stigma attached to produce and keep them as a status symbol. Most of the bite incidents involve pets and occur in places where folks have gathered socially.
Important: Did you know that 61% of the time, the attack occurs close to the dog’s home or where the victim lives? Most often, the victim is bitten by a “friendly” dog known to him or her.
No one can accurately predict what provokes a friendly dog to attack. Sometimes, the dog is in pain, sick, panicked, threatened, frightened. But is could involve any number of factors. Small children may unknowingly provoke a dog to attack. That is why parents and dog owners should never leave children unattended around dogs of any breed or size.
Sporting breeds are more likely to attack rather than hounds. Immature, new puppies are more likely to inflict injury than adult dogs. As mentioned, there are social “gangster” trends towards keeping and aggressively training dangerous breeds. Again, tough guys and gangster types as other immature owners maintain the trend alive.
What are “Guard Dogs”?
“Guard Dogs” are aggressively trained to protect property and premises. As a matter of fact, any dog can bite. Also, some are bred and trained to be aggressive, like:
- Rottweilers.
- German Shepherds.
- American Stafford-shire Terriers.
- Huskies.
- Dobermans.
- Akitas.
- Chows.
- Pit Bulls.
As the population of large dog breeds has increased, so has the severity of bite injuries. 44% of reported bites were by more giant German shepherds. But these remain only 22% of all licensed breeds.
Also, less than 20% of dog attacks involved smaller “toy” breeds. Licensed breeds made up 40% of the attacks.
Bull Terriers and Kids!
In fact, Bull Terriers are the most common culprits of dog attacks on children in urban areas. 94% of the time, these attacks remain unprovoked. In any event, most of the time, the animal is roaming neighborhoods freely, unsupervised. But any dog can and will bite. Also, as stated above, several factors remain at play in each attack.
In fact, some dogs get bred for their aggressive tendencies. Also, early socialization of the animal will help in lowering the dog’s tendency to bite or attack unprovoked.
Important: As the old saying goes: “there are no bad dogs, just bad owners.” In fact, mistreated, abused, malnourished dogs remain more likely to bite than dogs cared for properly.
Dangerous Zones to Avoid With Dogs.
If you invade the dog’s “territory,” threaten its family or make it jealous, you create a danger zone between you and the dog. Avoid these situations with potentially vicious canines.
You should try to avoid:
- If they are lying quietly, avoid approaching or bending over dogs.
- Also, immediately after entering their territory, avoid approaching the dog.
- Don’t tease or wake a sleeping dog.
- Avoid playing with a dog to over-excitement or annoyance.
Never Do The Following:
- Allow your dog to roam the streets or go unleashed.
- Go up to a strange dog without speaking with the owner.
- Tease a dog.
- Startle a dog.
- Disturb a dog caring for puppies.
- Leave a small child unattended around a dog of any breed.
- Ignore aggressive behavior warning signals.
- Forget to keep up with all vaccinations.
- Hold your face close to a dog.
- Eat from a dog food dish to be funny while the dog is eating.
Important To Remember:
- A threatened dog will attack.
- Don’t run from or scream at a dog.
- Don’t stare a dog right in the eye; it will take that as a threat.
- If approached by an unfamiliar dog, do not try to pet or be familiar with it.
- If a large dog knocks you over, go into the fetal position and stay still!
To speak with an experienced and noteworthy dog bite attorney contact us at (213) 596-9642. In fact, we remain well respected as formidable, daring fighters. Also, we venture to bet that we intimidate your adversaries.
Our bearing and courtroom presence exude boldness and certainty to the jury. Apparently, this presence grants a certain authoritative and credible view to your lawsuit.
