Dog Bites: A Common Issue in the US (Especially California)
According to Canine Journal, dogs bite approximately 4.5 million people every year. That’s a shocking number (although not as shocking if you consider the fact that American households keep about 90 million dogs as pets nationwide).
The good news is that over 80% of dog bites do not cause injuries requiring medical treatment according to the National Canine Research Council. In fact, your lifetime odds of being killed in a dog attack is 1 in 112,382. As a point of reference, you have a 1 in 315 chance of being killed by a gun in the US (according to a February 2018 article in Business Insider.)
If you do happen to be injured in a dog attack, what should you do?
- Get the owner’s contact info if the owner is present. You’re going to want the dog’s immunization records. Without those, you will have to be inoculated for rabies.
- Clean the would thoroughly with soap and water to stave off the risk of infection.
- If you are seriously injured, you may need to call 911. If the injury isn’t that bad and it is during your doctor’s normal office hours, you can call to see if your doctor will see you at the office or recommends that you go to the ER.
- Call the dog’s vet to ensure the animal’s immunizations are up to date.
- If you have accumulated medical bills or suffered other losses as a result of the attack, contact a personal injury attorney.
California Personal Injury Attorneys Specializing in Dog Bites
At Petrov Law Firm, we specialize in helping victims of dog bites and other animal attacks. To gain the benefits of our expertise on this topic, call us today at 619-344-0360.
