Articles Tagged with California dog bite attorney

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Dog bite injuries are common in California, whether you are in Valley Center or elsewhere in Southern California. A recent article in the Los Angeles Times emphasized the particularly high rate of dog bites in the state of California and how injuries in attacks appear to be increasing. Indeed, the article reports that “dog bites are sending record numbers of Californians to the emergency room.” Data from the California Department of Health Care Access and Information shows that emergency department visits due to dog bite injuries rose by about 12% between 2021 and 2022, the last year of available data in which almost 50,000 people sought emergency treatment for dog bites. 

Yet, as the article underscores, it is actually quite uncommon to have a situation where a dog that is known to be vicious is loose and attacks a stranger. Rather, most dog bites happen in circumstances where the dog is known to the person bitten and in situations with “animals being put under stress and humans not understanding their signals.” Does this information have any bearing on liability? In other words, if you misread a dog’s signals, can the attack be your own fault? In short, the answer is usually no. California follows a strict liability law, which tends to hold a dog owner responsible for most bites. Our Southern California dog bite injury attorneys can explain.

Owners are Liable for Dog Bites in Most Circumstances

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What are the risks of sustaining a dog bite injury in Escondido or elsewhere in San Diego County? California has always been a state with a particularly high number of dog bite cases, and it is routinely cited as a place with the most dog bites, resulting in insurance claims and payouts. According to a recent study conducted by the California Department of Healthcare Access and Information and reported by CBS News, “a record number of people have been hospitalized because of dog bites” in the state. Our Escondido dog bite injury lawyers can tell you more about the study and liability for dog bite injuries.

More Dog Bite Injuries are Occurring in California

According to the new study, 2022 was a record-high year for serious dog bite injuries in California. Indeed, in 2022 alone, nearly 49,000 people in the state went to emergency departments because of dog bite injuries. That number is a 12% increase from the previous year. To put that number in perspective further, it is a 70% increase from the number of emergency department visits for dog bites in 2005. Deaths from dog bites remain relatively rare, but there were 96 total deaths in the US in 2022.

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While the weather is relatively warm in Valley Center and in Southern California throughout the year, the summer months can be particularly hot. According to a recent study in Scientific Reports, dog bites and animal attacks may be more likely to occur when the weather is particularly warm. The study’s findings suggest that not only could dog bite injuries be more likely to occur in the summer in California than in other months, but the state’s year-round warm weather could help to explain the very high rates of dog bites in Southern California. In addition, the study links air pollution to higher rates of dog bites, as well, which could be another factor playing a role in the total number of dog bite injuries in San Diego County and Los Angeles County.

Learning More About Dog Attacks in Southern California

Rates of dog bites and dog attack incidents are highest in California nearly every year. Indeed, according to DogsBite.org, the state of California routinely has the highest number of dog bite fatalities, and its cities frequently have high rates of dog bite incidents. 

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If you or your child recently sustained injuries because of a dog bite in Rancho Bernardo, what steps do you need to take in order to heal and to seek financial compensation for your losses? Dog bites can be devastating, and their severity can range widely. Children often suffer more serious and deadly injuries in dog attacks, but serious dog bites can result in debilitating injuries regardless of age. After a dog bite injury, it is important to take the following steps. 

  1. Seek Medical Attention

First, you should treat the dog bite wound and get medical attention if necessary. You should clean the area, and you should apply pressure before you can be treated in an emergency department. Depending upon the severity of the dog bite, you may require stitches or surgery. Most dog bites also require an antibiotic in order to prevent a serious infection.

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Dog bite injuries can happen suddenly and unexpectedly, particularly when the dog belongs to a family member or a friend. In many cases, dog bite injuries can be quite serious, and many can even prove fatal. Regardless of whether you know the dog owner, it is important to learn more about seeking compensation to cover your medical bills related to the dog attack, along with lost wages due to your inability to work. 

As you are seeking information about dog bite compensation, you may be wondering if you are eligible to file a lawsuit after getting bitten by a dog in Escondido. The answer to that inquiry depends on a handful of other factors. The following are some questions that are designed to help you understand whether or not you may be eligible to file a dog bite lawsuit.

Were You Lawfully on the Property When the Dog Bite Occurred?

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Dog bites in Oceanside can result in serious and deadly injuries, and wounds can be particularly severe when children are bitten. While nobody wants to think about a family dog biting a child and causing a severe or even fatal injury, many dog bite incidents involve family pets, and the animal attacks are unexpected. According to a recent study published in The Journal of Pediatrics, dog bite incidents affecting children have “surged” during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in hospital visits and serious injuries while families are grappling with other health concerns and risks. We want to say more about the study and recent dog bite incidents impacting younger kids in Oceanside and throughout Southern California. 

Sheltering at Home Has Meant More Time With Family Pets

Unfortunately, although sheltering at home can have some health benefits since children and adults are at less risk of being exposed to the coronavirus, in-home injury risks rise. When families have one or more dogs in the house, the more time a child spends at home, the higher the possibility of a dog bite case. And just as families engaging in social distancing practices are trying to remain at home while experiencing significant anxiety, family pets are also experiencing higher stress levels. All of that tension in a household can be risky. According to the new study, adults and children alike are experiencing higher levels of stress due to the COVID-19 emergency, and “canine companions can be particularly susceptible to these stresses.” 

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duffy-brook-350225-copy-300x200You may know that California has one of the highest rates of dog bites and animal attacks in the country, with thousands of dollars in insurance payouts every year for dog bite injuries. Given that California is a strict liability state when it comes to dog bites, it is extremely important for anyone who is considering bringing a new dog into the family to know about a new adoption law that is designed to protect potential adopters. While the new law is aimed at providing families with more information about whether a dog may have a history that could make a dog bite more likely in the future, the impetus remains on adopters to ask questions about the dog’s viciousness. A recent article in CityWatch discusses the new law and what it could mean for dog owners in dog bite cases.  

California Governor Signs New Law Concerning Potential Dog Adopters

On October 2, 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom sign AB 588 into law. The new law, according to the article, “is important to anyone who adopts, or considers adopting, a dog from any animal shelter, human society, or “rescue” group in California and to anyone living in a community where an adopted dog is kept.” In short, the new law requires all animal shelters in the state to inform adopters about whether any dog that is four months old or older has bitten a person and broken the skin. Under the new law, the animal shelter is required to inform a person about this type of animal history prior to selling a dog, giving away a dog, or otherwise releasing a dog. The history of bite(s) must be disclosed in writing, along with information concerning the incident in which the dog bite occurred.

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duffy-brook-350225-copy-300x200How often do dog bite injuries in Poway happen? Whether you are in Poway or in another part of Southern California, it is important to know that California routinely leads the nation in the highest rate of dog bites, and this year is no different. According to a recent report in the Insurance Journal, California ranked first in dog bite injury claims based on data in a new report. While dog bite claims across the nation did decrease slightly, California continued to have more dog bite claims than any other state by hundreds of incidents. What else should San Diego residents know about the report, and what can we do to prevent dog bite injuries?

 
Report Says California Had More Than 400 Dog Bite Claims in 2018

The Insurance Information Institute (III) and State Farm conduct a report each year on dog bite injury claims. For the 2017 year, the report showed California ranking first in the total number of dog bite injury claims with a total of 488 claims. Across the country, the report for 2017 showed a total of about 3,600 claims, meaning that dog bite injury claims in the state of California accounted for nearly 14% of all dog bite injury claims in the country. A total of $18.7 billion was paid out in 2017.

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duffy-brook-350225-copy-300x200When Encinitas residents think about ways to reduce the rate of dog bite injuries and animal attacks, they will likely think about types of both animal and human behavior. However, there are other ways to assess dog bite incidents and to find new ways to reduce serious attacks, particularly among young children. According to a recent article in Tech Times, researchers are turning to YouTube videos in order to study dog attacks and, ultimately, to prevent dog bite injuries.

Can YouTube Provide Information About Dog Attacks?

It is often difficult for researchers to study dog bites by observing the behavior of the dog during the attack. After all, these incidents happen quickly, and the victims rarely have photographic evidence of them. However, dog attacks do often get filmed by witnesses, and many of those videos end up on YouTube. As the article explains, researchers have turned to YouTube in order to “conduct direct observation and analyses of dog bites.”

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duffy-brook-350225-copy-300x200Are you more likely to suffer a dog bite injury in Poway if you have a certain type of personality? On the surface, the idea might seem ridiculous. After all, dogs bite for many different reasons and often bite unprovoked. However, according to a recent article in Psychology Today, the notion that certain personality characteristics could place individuals at greater risk of sustaining a dog bite injury might not be so far-fetched. Of course, a dog bite victim’s personality traits are not sufficient to get the owner off the hook in the event a dog does bite. Yet, understanding the relationship between an individual’s personality characteristics and the risk of sustaining a dog bite injury might help residents of Southern California to better protect themselves.

Body Language can Affect the Likelihood of a Dog Attack

According to the article, people who experience anxiety and distress, or more colloquially, those who display the personality characteristic of “neuroticism,” could be more likely to get bitten by a dog. The article cites a previous study on the issue published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, and it seeks to assess whether the research findings in that study are legitimate based on our knowledge of clinical psychology. Can a certain level of neuroticism, which can lead an individual to appear nervous or on edge, increase the likelihood that a dog may bite that person?

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