Dog Bites
Dog bites are responsible for nearly 5 milliion injuries per year.
Aggressive dogs bite more than 500,000 people annually, resulting in approximately 12 fatalities. The majority of these victims are children. Although most dogs are not hostile, even the calmest dog can bite. If you are bitten by a dog, make sure you thoroughly clean your wounds. You should also seek medical assistance and advice from a doctor about the possibility of rabies. If you have no prior relationship with the dog or the owner, notify the local animal control board about the incident. Animal control officers may be able to track down the dog and establish when it was last vaccinated for rabies.
There are several factors that determine whether a dog’s owner is liable in the event an attack occurs. They include:
- Dog’s previous behavior
- Use of a “Beware of Dog” warning sign
- Whether the dog was provoked
- Laws of the state where the bite took place
Some states only enforce liability if the dog owner had previous knowledge that the dog has potential to become a threat to others. In these regions, owners face no liability for the "first bite." This means that since the dog has not lashed out before, the owner could not have known about any of its violent tendencies. On the other hand, some states enforce liability in spite of the dog’s history or owner’s knowledge of a propensity to bite. In these states, just owning a dog makes the owner strictly liable for damage caused by the animal.