A dog is called “man’s best friend” and usually is – until their bark is worse than their bite. According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 2% of the U.S. population is bitten by a dog each year. This amounts to nearly 5 million dog bite victims per year– most of whom are children. Over the past 10 years, the number of dogs in U.S. households has risen 3% – while the number of reported dog bites treated in Emergency Rooms has skyrocketed by 33%. About 1000 dog bite victims per day are seen in Hospital Emergency Rooms. Dog bite losses in the U.S. exceed 1 Billion dollars per year, with nearly $350 Million paid out by homeowner’s insurance companies, increasing each year. For many reasons, we are seeing an epidemic of dog bites victims.
According to experts in canine behavior, dogs bite for many reasons. These include:
Dog attacks on humans, including those which have resulted in the death of the victim, have become increasingly common in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. There is much debate over whether the attacks can be blamed on the prevalence of certain breeds of dogs or whether they are due primarily to the actions or inactions of the dogs’ owners.
After thousands of years of domestication and selective breeding for dogs who do not show aggression towards humans, most dogs are unlikely to attack people. However, provocation can range from something as seemingly innocuous as a toddler pulling a dog’s tail, in which case the dog might nip to discourage the behavior, to something completely undetectable to humans, such as an odor or a movement that sets a dog off, to blatant human aggression or violence towards a dog, causing it to defend itself. There are hundreds of shades of provocation. It is not always a black and white case as to why a dog might attack a human.
Dogs can inflict serious, sometimes fatal, injury to humans. As evidenced by their attacks on other animals, both wild and domestic dogs are super-predators, though tamer (and usually weaker) than the wolves from which they descended. Their sharp teeth and powerful jaws can inflict serious injuries. Their sharp claws have powerful muscles behind them. Scratches from dogs are easily infected. A boisterous dog of adequate size can knock down a person and possibly cause serious injury despite there being no malicious intent on the part of the animal. A single large dog, or a group of medium-sized dogs, is capable of seriously injuring or killing an adult human.
Note that dogs can exhibit aggression toward other dogs without ever exhibiting aggression toward humans. These are generally accepted to be separate traits.
Education for adults and children, animal training, selective breeding for temperament, and society’s intolerance for dangerous animals combine to reduce the incidence of attacks and accidents involving humans and dogs. However, improperly managed confrontations can lead to severe injury from even the most well-tempered dog, much like most humans can be incited to violence given sufficient provocation.
There are many signs that a dog is about to attack, such as barks. A wagging tail indicates an attempt to communicate excitement, but a territorial dog may wag its tail at a chance to defend its home. A highly disturbed dog may sometimes emit confusing or misleading signals, yelping or jumping.
Most human behavior (especially by people unfamiliar with dogs) can potentially evoke a predatory or aggressive response from some dogs. Not every dog responds to all or even any of these behaviors with aggression. However, some do. These behaviors include:
Many adoption agencies test for certain aggressive behaviours in dogs and destroy any animal that shows certain types of aggression.
Even dogs considered to be “family-friendly,” such as Golden Retrievers, are capable of biting a child. A parent would rarely leave a child alone with an unknown pit bull, but people forget that even a cute dog is still a dog. Just because a dog typically has a good temperament does not mean that it is safe to leave a child alone with it. Because children are most easily harmed by dogs, there are a few steps that can be taken to ensure no harm comes to a child, or to the dog by extension:
In a domestic situation, canine aggression is normally suppressed. Exceptions are if the dog is feral, trained to attack intruders, threatened, or provoked. It is important to remember that dogs are predators by nature, and instinct is something that never completely disappears. It is possible to acclimatize a dog to common human situations in order to avoid adverse reactions by a pet. Dog experts advocate removal of a dog’s food, startling a dog, and performing sudden movements in a controlled setting to train out aggressive impulses in common situations. This also allows better animal care because owners may now remove an article directly from a dog’s mouth, or transport a wounded pet to seek medical attention.
Small children are especially prone to provoking dogs. In part, this is because their size and movements can be similar to prey. Also, young children may unintentionally provoke a dog (pulling on ears or tails is common, as is surprising a sleeping dog) because of their inexperience. Because of a dog’s pack instincts, more dominant dogs may view children or even adults as rivals rather than as superiors, and attempt to establish dominance by physical means. Any attempt at dominance behavior, no matter how tentative, should be extremely firmly discouraged as early as possible, to affirm to the dog that all humans are pack superiors. To avoid potential conflicts, even reliably well-behaved children and dogs should not be allowed to interact in the absence of adult supervision.
Dogs with strong chase instincts, especially shepherds, may fail to recognize a human being in its entirety. They may fixate on specific aspect of the person, such as a fast-moving, brightly colored shoe, as a prey object. This is probably the cause for the majority of non-aggressive dogs chasing cyclists and runners. In these cases, if the individual stops, it immediately loses interest since the prey has stopped. This is not always the case, and aggressive dogs might take the opportunity to attack.
Additionally, most dogs who bark aggressively at strangers, particularly when not on “their” territory, will flee if the stranger challenges it. Conversely, there is always the danger of the occasional dog who will stand its ground and escalate the situation.
When a dog is near humans, it becomes less aggressive. This is because it is familiarized with human beings and is less likely to attack. But don’t assume that because it has been with many humans it will not attack you. That is not true. If it feels that you are a potential threat it will attack. So even though it becomes less aggressive, it is still a strange dog and you should not approach it. But some dogs are different as you will read in the next few paragraphs, so don’t assume that all dogs are friendly because of familiar interaction with humans.
Dog attacks on humans that appear most often in the news are those that require the hospitalization of the victim or those in which the victim is killed. Although it is possible for small dogs to seriously maul or kill humans, it is more difficult for them to do so than it is for large, muscular breeds.
Some large breeds have surged in popularity in recent years, such as pit bull-type dogs, Rottweilers, and other similar muscular breeds. Not unexpectedly, attacks involving such breeds have also become more common. This has occurred historically. For example, when German Shepherd Dogs were among the most common breeds chosen as pets, attacks by German Shepherds also increased. As a result, many countries and municipalities have enacted breed-specific legislation in an attempt to prevent additional attacks from the dogs perceived to be dangerous.
Considerable controversy reigns about such legislation. Proponents might argue that pit bulls and certain other breeds are inherently aggressive toward humans and shouldn’t be allowed at all, or they might simply argue that since the breed is so popular, they are often owned by irresponsible owners who provide insufficient training or, worse, aggressiveness training, and that controlling the breed is the best way to control the irresponsible owners.
Opponents might argue that no breed is inherently aggressive toward humans or that regulating one breed simply moves the irresponsible owners to start focusing on breeds that haven’t yet been regulated, moving the problem to other breeds.
It is extremely difficult to establish the inherent human aggressiveness of a breed in general. To establish meaningful results, research would have to consider such factors as the following:
When a breed’s popularity increases, it might be more likely to be the first choice among owners with no previous experience with dogs because it’s the breed with which they’re familiar. Novice owners might not know how to properly socialize a dog of any breed.
This would be a difficult number to discover, because it seems likely that not many owners would readily admit to it. Also even though it may not be intended to train a dog to be aggressive, it is well documented that many dog owners do inadvertently teach a dog to think of itself as dominant.
This can happen in any breed, and responsible breeders would generally not breed such a dog. However, as a breed’s popularity increases, people who know nothing about breeding or genetics (or who don’t care) might breed dogs that otherwise shouldn’t be bred.
For example, if there were 5,000 pit bulls in a given area, and 5 attacked humans during the previous year, but there were 100 of some other breed in the same area and 5 also attacked humans, statistics would suggest that the other breed is a far more aggressive breed than pit bulls, with 4,995 pit bulls behaving quite decently. Most statistics published show only the number of dogs of various breeds involved in attacks, not the percentage of dogs of that breed in the area who were involved in attacks. Any popular breed is more likely to show up with more attacks because there are simply more dogs.
One approach that acknowledges that it’s hard to determine the dangerousness of a specific breed takes the strategy of regulating all dogs over a certain size or weight, which would greatly reduce the chance of a dog being large enough to inflict serious harm. This, of course, would remove from circulation most of the hundreds of breeds available in the world today, most of whom would never deliberately harm a human.
Although research and analysis suggests that breed-specific legislation is not effective in preventing dog attacks, with each new attack, pressure mounts to enact such legislation, despite indications that dangerous dog legislation would be more effective — that is, focusing on specific individual dogs having exhibited signs of human aggression. The controversy is bound to continue.
For example, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in 1997 that fatal attacks by Rottweilers rose fairly steadily from 0 in 1979 to 10 per year in 1995 and 1996. During the same time, fatalities from pit bulls peaked in the mid-1980s and have been declining since to only 3 in 1996. However, if one were to look only at the total number of fatalities over those 18 years, it would appear that the pit bull was the bigger threat, when, in fact, Rottweilers were currently a more common attacker.
However, it is interesting to note that AKC registration of Rottweilers rose from 27th most popular in 1982, with just over 9,000 dogs of that breed registered, to second most popular in 1996, with roughly 90,000 dogs registered. That doesn’t account for the possibly hundreds of thousands of Rottweilers not registered with the AKC. With this many dogs of a single breed in the country, it is not surprising that there were some attacks on humans. However, even if one were to ignore all the hundreds of thousands of non-AKC Rottweilers, 10 out of 90,000 dogs is one one-hundredths of one percent of Rottweilers involved in fatal attacks on humans. One might question whether that proves that this breed is inherently dangerous and should be regulated by legislation.
By the same token, “pit bull” is a term often used to lump several similar-looking breeds. Many people have difficulty distinguishing one broad-faced, muscular breed from another. It is difficult to track the registration of the “pit bull” during the same time period.
Although using a firearm against an attacking dog may seem acceptable, laws in the United States that prohibit cruelty to animals, discharging a firearm in a city, and reckless endangerment may limit the extent to which a person is legally able to defend themselves in this way. There will generally be no legal defense to taking such action where the dogs involved were not acting aggressively toward humans.
A dog owner assumes liability when their dog bites for any of the above reasons. In fact, dog bites are one of the few areas of “strict liability,”– meaning that the owner is automatically responsible, with very few defenses to avoid paying their dog’s victim. Even if the dog has never bitten before, the owner is still liable– and more so if it has. If one harbors a dangerous dog on their property and a child “trespasses” out of curiosity and is bitten, the owner is liable. If a person disclaims ownership of a dog they let go free, they remain liable for dog bite injuries. One thin exception to liability is where an adult physically baits or abuses the animal; but this is a rarity.
If you or a family member is bitten by a dog, the owner is generally responsible to damages– including medical bills, loss of income, emotional damage, and residual disfigurement. It is important to:
A claim can be made against various insurance policies, depending upon the circumstances. These include the dog owner’s Homeowners Insurance, Renter’s Insurance, Landlord’s Insurance, Commercial Insurance, Employee Insurance and even Motor Vehicle Insurance. A competent attorney will know how to make a demand of each possible source of payment in effort to obtain full compensation for dog bite injuries.
At Goldberg Law offices, we have over 18 years of experience helping Ohio victims of dog bites and their families. We know how to bring effective claims for dog bite victims. We have a full-time physician on staff to review the nature of the injuries sustained, and expert consultants to help prepare a dog bite case for trial or settlement. We are not afraid to go up against any dog owner– no matter how non-cooperative or threatening they appear to be.
Our Ohio Dog Bite Attorneys offer a no-charge consultation and will be happy to discuss a potential claim involving injury of death from a dog bite. Victims of dog bites and their Families deserve compensation– and the best legal team to fight for them. However, any potential dog bite claim must be filed within the applicable Statutes of Limitation, which are very short. We can answer your questions about your claim and concerns about the time frame in which to bring it. Don’t let the compensation you and/or your loved ones may be entitled to lapse for failure to file a claim in a timely fashion. Please call today to discuss your potential dog bite claim at no cost to you.
A Postal Worker delivering mail is expected to trudge through snow, sleet, hail, wind and rain– but becoming a dog bite victim is not part of the job description. According to the U.S. Postal Service, about 3,300 U.S. Letter Carriers suffer substantial dog bites each year, with some bitten severely. Postal Workers are just doing their jobs. No dog should get a “free bite” at a Letter Carrier’s expense.
Most every U.S. household receives mail. Over the past 10 years, the number of dogs in U.S. households has risen 3%, while the number of reported dog bites treated in Emergency Rooms has skyrocketed by 33%. Overall, about 1000 dog bite victims per day are seen in Hospital Emergency Rooms. Dog bite losses in the U.S. exceed 1 Billion dollars per year, with nearly $350 Million paid out by homeowner’s insurance companies, increasing each year. For many reasons, we are seeing an epidemic of dog bites victims. For Postal Workers, many of the bites occur at the homeowner’s doorstep, according to Letter Carriers who help sponsor the National Dog Bite Prevention Week each May.
According to experts in canine behavior, dogs bite Postal Workers for many reasons. These include:
A dog owner assumes liability when their dog bites for any of the above reasons. In fact, dog bites are one of the few areas of “strict liability,” – meaning that the owner is automatically responsible, with very few defenses to avoid paying their dog’s victim. Even if the dog has never bitten before, the owner is still liable, and more so if it has. If the Postal Worker is perceived as a “trespasser,” the owner is liable. No matter how well an owner has restrained the dog, if it gets free and bites, the owner is responsible. Even if a person disclaims ownership of a dog they let go free, they remain liable for a Letter Carrier’s injuries. Nothing short of a Letter Carrier physically baiting and abusing a dog is any defense to a victim’s dog bite claim.
A Postal Worker and/or their family is entitled to compensation for a dog bite injury. The dog owner’s responsibility includes payment for damages including medical bills, loss of income, emotional damage, and any residual disfigurement. As a Postal Worker, if you are bitten:
A claim can be made against various insurance policies, depending upon the circumstances. These include the dog owner’s Homeowners Insurance, Renter’s Insurance, Landlord’s Insurance, Commercial Insurance, Postal Employee Insurance and/or Disability Insurer. A competent attorney will know how to make a demand of each possible source of payment – in effort to obtain full compensation for your dog bite injuries.
At Goldberg Law offices, we have over 23 years of experience helping Ohio victims of dog bites and their families. There is no reason a Postal Worker should suffer an uncompensated dog bite while doing their job. We know how to bring effective claims for dog bite victims, and have a full-time physician on staff to review the nature of the injuries sustained. We are not afraid to go up against any dog owner – no matter how non-cooperative or threatening they appear to be.
Our Ohio Dog Bite Attorneys offer a no-charge consultation and will be happy to discuss a potential claim involving injury of death from a dog bite. As a Postal Worker or victim’s family member, you deserve the best legal team to fight for you. However, any potential dog bite claim must be filed within the applicable Statutes of Limitation, which are very short. We can answer your questions about your claim and concerns about the time frame in which to bring it. Don’t let the compensation you and/or your loved ones may be entitled to lapse for failure to file a claim in a timely fashion. Please call today to discuss your potential dog bite claim at no cost to you.
