New York Dog Bite Accidents

Approximately one thousand people visit the emergency room every day in the U.S. as the result of dog bites. Over four million people are bitten by dogs in the U.S. each year. 34 fatal dog attacks occurred in the U.S. in the year 2010 alone. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality in a 2010 published study, found that the number of Americans who were hospitalized due to injuries suffered in dog bites, nearly doubled over a period of 15 years. There were four times as many dog-bite related emergency room visits and three times as many hospital stays due to dog attacks in rural areas versus urban areas.

Even worse, many of dog bite victims are children, who are smaller, more trusting targets for dangerous animals. Half of the children bitten by dogs are bitten in the face. Dog attacks on children can cause not just immediate physical injury but also extended emotional trauma which may require years of therapy.

• Stop the bleeding and clean the wound with warm water and soap.
• Seek medical attention as soon as possible.
• After medical treatment has been administered, collect as much information as you can from any witnesses to the dog attack.
• Use cell phones or smart phones to take photographs of the area where the bite occurred and if possible, the injuries which resulted from the attack.
• Provide as much information as you can to your local animal control agency relevant to the dog- bite incident. Include the sequence of events which led up to the attack as well as any information you may have about the dog itself including the breed of the animal.
• Never sign anything from the dog owner’s insurance company, the dog owner himself or herself, or from anyone else involved.
• Seek legal representation as soon as possible, taking into account that the state of New York has in place a statute of limitations of three years regarding dog bite incidents.

• According to the United States Center for Disease Control (CDC), the odds that the victim of a dog attack will be a child are three point two to one.
• Children ages five to nine years old are bitten most often, but the median age of those bitten was 15.
• Young boys tend to be bitten more often than young girls.
• Injuries classified as severe occur nearly exclusively in children younger than age ten who are not likely to be able to defend themselves from dog attacks.
• More than 70 percent of dog bite injuries to children under age ten are injuries to the face. In fact, dog bites result in more than 40,000 facial injuries every year in the U.S.—representing approximately one percent of all emergency room visits.
• Children seen in emergency rooms are far more likely to have been bitten on the face (lips, nose, and cheeks), in the neck, or in the head.
• Well over half the number of dog attacks occur in the home or in another familiar place.
• Over 70 percent of attacking dogs belong to the victim’s family or to friends of the family.
• In dog bite attacks in which the child bitten is age four or younger, the attack nearly always happened in the family home.

In the United States, fatalities resulting from dog attacks are breed specific. Pit bulls and Rottweilers in recent years have been responsible for the majority of homicides. Other breeds as well are responsible for fatalities, but to a lesser extent. Pit bulls, Rottweilers, and their mixes were responsible for over 60 percent of dog bite attack fatalities during a 24-year period in the U.S. The following breeds of dogs killed one or more individuals over a three-year time span:

• Pit bulls—of the 88 fatal dog attacks in a 2009 study occurring over a three-year period, pit bulls were responsible for 52 or 59 percent. That percentage is equal to a pit bull attacking and killing someone every 21 days in the U.S. during this three-year period.
• Rottweilers—Rottweilers were responsible for 14 percent of the fatal attacks.
• German shepherds
• Doberman pinschers
• Alaskan malamutes
• Huskies
• Great Danes
• St. Bernards
• Akitas
• Chows

In fairness to the above breeds, any dog when treated harshly or when trained to aggressively attack may kill. The average weight of a Pomeranian is four pounds, and Pomeranians are not regarded as a dangerous breed, but a six-week-old baby was killed in 2000 by a family’s Pomeranian dog. The infant and dog had been left together on a bed while the uncle prepared the baby’s bottle. When the uncle returned, he found the dog in the process of mauling the baby who died shortly after the attack. It is impossible to simply look at a dog’s breed and tell whether or not the animal is going to attack some day. Irresponsible dog owners can create a situation in which another individual may be in danger of attack by a dog.

According to Section 11.03 of the New York City Health Code, all animal bites are to be reported within 24 hours of the incident/event. Information required on the form which may be obtained at www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/vet/vetegp.shtml includes the following information held in strict confidence:

• Date of bite
• Animal type and breed
• Color of the biting animal
• Animal’s ownership and information such as name, address, telephone number, etc.
• Personal information about the person bitten such as name, address, telephone number, etc.
• Area of the body bitten
• Activity of the person who has been bitten at the time of the attack
• Place of occurrence including the Borough
• Name and personal information of the person reporting the incident including that person’s relationship to the person bitten.

At the law firm of David Resnick & Associates, PC, we serve dog-bite accident victims in the metropolitan New York area and beyond.

If you or a loved one has been involved in a dog-bite accident, contact the law offices of David Resnick & Associates, PC.

Aggressive, Successful Representation of the Injured by Attorneys Who Care

Please call (212) 279-2000 or fill out our online contact form.

These Hubs are provided for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice. Professional legal counsel should be sought for specific advice relevant to your circumstances.