You don’t usually see stories about dog bite accidents in New York City and elsewhere on the front page of the paper. But the truth of the matter is that these kinds of accidents are extremely common!
Millions are bitten by a dog each year. In 2011, insurance companies across the country dished about nearly $500 million in dog bite claims, according to the Insurance Information Institute. This is a significant increase from the year before and it has experts puzzled.
State Farm Insurance, one of the latest home insurers in the country, reports that it paid out nearly $110 million for its near 4,000 dog bite claims in 2011. The year before, just $90 million for about 3,500 was awarded. Officials with State Farm are still working to figure out why there was such an increase in just a year, according to Yahoo News.
Our New York City dog bite injury lawyers understand that there are more than 4.5 million residents who are bitten by dogs each year. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there about nearly a million people who seek medical attention for these kinds of accidents. Believe it or not, about 20 people die every year because of these kinds of injuries.
Children and postal service workers are the most likely to be bitten by a dog. Children have it worse though. Kids between the ages of 5- and 9-years-old are about 900 times more likely to be bitten by a dog than a postal service worker. Nationwide, nearly 6,000 U.S. Postal Service workers were attacked by dogs each of the last two years. In 2011, these types of accidents cost the postal service about $1 million.
For this reason, safety advocates and organizations nationwide use the third full week in May as National Dog Bite Prevention Week. During this time, the U.S. Postal Service, State Farm Insurance and the American Veterinary Medical Association work together to help to raise awareness about these incidents and to convey just how common these accidents actually are. Although postal service workers face some serious risks for these kinds of accidents, they’re using this year’s awareness week to focus on the risks that children face for dog bite accidents.
There are a number of reasons as to why a dog may attack. Among these reasons is socialization, heredity, behavior, training, health and the behavior of nearby humans.
According to the ASPCA, about half of all children will be the victim of a dog bite at least once before they turn 12. A large majority of these bites will be from their own dog, a family member’s dog or even a neighbor’s dog.
Nationwide, people own nearly 80 million dogs.
In 2011, the average cost per claim about nearly $29,000.
There’s no telling which dogs will and will not attack a person. You’re best bet is to act like every dog is dangerous and treat them with the utmost respect and care. Make sure that you allow a dog to smell you before petting it. Your also urged to never both a dog while its caring for its pups, sleeping or eating. If you observe an unknown dog without an owner, your urged to call your local animal services. Lastly, if you’ve been bitten by a dog, be sure to seek medical attention and then seek the assistance of an experienced attorney to help you to fight for the compensation that you deserve.
If you or someone you love has been bitten by a dog in New York City, rely on the Law Offices of Nicholas Rose for help. Call 718-261-0546 for a free consultation. Serving Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester and Rockland counties.
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Puppies from Santa Increasing Risks for Dog Bite Accidents in New York and Elsewhere
January 10, 2012
