Dog And Animal Bites

In Florida, dog bite personal injury claims fall under Florida Statute 767.04. An important aspect to that statute is that it makes a dog owner liable for a dog bite injury to another "regardless of the former viciousness of the dog or the owner's knowledge of such viciousness." In other words, a dog owner can be "strictly liable" for injury to another. While there are defenses available to dog owners under the law, a dog bite case is one of the few examples of cases in which a Defendant can be held responsible for injury to another even if the incident was not foreseeable.

Landlords can also be held responsible for dog bites caused by a tenant's dog. However, a landlord is not strictly liable, and a Plaintiff would have to show some foreseeability of injury, such as a history of problems with the dog, circumstances surrounding the breed of dog, etc. There are several other statutes under Florida law that deal with dog bite injuries, dog ownership, animal control agencies and classification of dogs as dangerous.

Dog Bite Statistics and Injuries:

Every 40 seconds, someone in the United States seeks medical attention or has to run to the hospital emergency room because they are bitten by a dog. This adds up to approximately 800,000 dog bites per year in the United States that require emergency medical treatment. Regretably, most of the victims are children, and most of them are bitten on the face. Around $165 million is spent treating dog bites and 70% of dog bites occur on the owner's property.

Dog bites result in approximately 44,000 facial injuries each year. This represents between 0.5% and 1.5% of all hospital emergency room visits. Male patients slightly outnumber females. Unfortunately children comprise 60% of the dog bite victims. Severe injuries occur almost exclusively in children less than 10 years of age. The face is the most frequent target (77% of all injures). Mail carriers are an exception where 97% involve the lower extremities. We see an unusual number of dreadful injuries each spring. Severely injured patients stay an average of 4.2 days in the hospital. Dog bites cause an average of 18 deaths a year.

Types of Injuries:

Dog bites can inflict Cuts and lacerations, abrasions, crushing wounds, punctures and fractured bones.

These wounds can often result in disfiguring scars. The central target area for the face includes the lips, nose, and cheeks. Dog bites are becoming more common because of the increase in dog ownership and interaction of people and dogs. Many owners are ignorant of proper care and training of dogs.

The majority of dog bites are by pet dogs and happen when people are engaged in social behavior in appropriate places. They generally (61%) occur close to dog's home or home of the dog bite victim. Typically (77%) of these injuries are by friendly dogs known to the victim. It is impossible to predict what might provoke a friendly dog to bite. They may be in physical pain, become panic stricken, feel threatened, or any number of factors. Unfortuntely children under the age of 5 are more likely to provoke animals. Dog should never be left unattended with small children.

Hounds are less likely to bite than working or sporting breeds. Puppies are also more likely to bite than an adult dog.

There are social trends developing in our society towards training and keeping dangerous animals by inexperienced owners. These types of animals are trained to be aggressive guard dogs for self or property protection. While any dog can bite, the top breeds likely to bite are:

  • Pit Bulls
  • German Shepherds
  • Chow Chows
  • Doberman Pinschers
  • Rotweilers
  • Huskies

The increase in population of large dogs has resulted in an increased severity of bites. German shepherds were identified as the breed involved in 44% of all bite cases but accounted for only 22% of license registrations. Small purebred dogs accounted for less than 20% of bites but more than 40% of registrations. The pit bull terrier is a common cause of urban dog bite injuries in children. The major problem is that they are frequently (94%) unprovoked. These dogs are also freely roaming animals (67%).

Any dog can and will bite in certain circumstances. The tendency for dogs to bite is the product of many factors. Some breeds have a genetic predisposition towards aggressiveness. There is less tendency to bite with early socialization to people, training, quality of care and supervision.

Here are some factors that may increase the tendency to bite include maltreatment, behavior of the victim, and others.

Dangerous Situations:

Invading dog's territory, threat to dog's family, threat to dog, jealous dog.

You must be careful to avoid:

  • Approaching or bending over dogs especially if they are lying quietly
  • Approaching them immediately after entering their territory
  • Teasing or waking them
  • Playing with them till they become overexcited

DO NOT ACT THIS WAY WITH DOGS:

  • Hold your face close to a dog
  • Allow dogs to roam unleashed
  • Approach a strange dog
  • Tease a dog
  • Startle a dog
  • Disturb a dog that is sleeping, eating, or caring for puppies
  • Leave a small child and dog alone
  • Ignore the warning signals of aggressive behavior
  • omit vaccination of a dog

When With A Dog It's Important To Remember:

  • A Threatened Dog Often Bites
  • Never run from or scream at a dog
  • Do not challenge the dog by staring it right in the eye
  • Be as still as possible if approached by an unfamiliar dog
  • If a dog knocks you over, roll into a ball and stay still

At Kinney, Fernandez & Boire, we have been representing individuals injured by dogs for over 15 years and our attorneys know how to present such cases to dog owners, homeowners insurance companies, renters insurance companies, defense attorneys and the courts. Often times we have consulted with plastic surgeons and mental health experts in such cases. All too often, children are the victims of dog bite cases. Our lawyers and staff are accustomed to representing parents and their children. Contact our office if you need representation in a dog bite case and we will schedule an appointment as soon as possible and at your convenience.

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