Nearly 40 percent of American households own a dog, which shows us that there are a lot of dog owners in the US and a huge potential for someone to end up being bitten by a dog on a daily basis. This makes the probability high that a dog bite lawsuit will be filed any time that the victim winds up seriously injured.
Statistics show that someone is bitten by a dog, on average, 4.7 million times every year in the US. With this number being so high, dog owners must take it upon themselves, for their own protection, to get some type of liability insurance for dogs to address this concern.
Dogs have a tendency to bite by nature
The fact that a dog has a tendency to bite doesn’t necessarily reflect that the dog is mean spirited. A number of environmental triggers have been known to cause the most even-tempered dogs to attack. This includes defending their territory, finding themselves in an unfamiliar situation, being taunted or provoked by someone, or suffering an injury or illness of some type. Even a normally well-behaved dog may decide to bite an individual if they feel nervous or somehow threatened in any way.
Children and dogs
For obvious reasons, it’s better not to leave unattended children with a dog. For example, a child left alone with an unfamiliar dog could accidentally step on the animal’s tail. The dog may likely react and bite. Pet owners shouldn’t assume that their dog wouldn’t have a negative or unpleasant reaction to the hyperactive nature of some kids. They can easily react completely differently from normal when confronted by other people’s children.
Children receive a large number of bites from dogs, in some cases causing permanent disfigurement, or tragically, even death. Sadly, this often results in litigation for pain and suffering or trauma, along with the payment of costly medical bills. In half of all dog bite cases the victim is 12 years old or younger, with many of their injuries occurring around the head and neck region.
No one wants to be slapped with a lawsuit because his or her dog gets over stimulated, which creates a scenario where the animal attacks. Dog owners will be much better off having liability insurance for dogs when this type of instance occurs.