California is a great place for dogs. Plenty of residents share their lives with pets, but there’s more to dog ownership than just feeding and cuddling them. Dog owners are required to keep their pets out of situations where they could become frightened or feel threatened and be tempted to bite someone.
Sadly, some dog breeds get a bad reputation for attacks. However, the fault should be squarely on the dog owners. Owners are sometimes guilty of neglecting their duty to their dogs to raise them, provide proper training, and restrain them when necessary for the safety of children and adults.
At Maison Law, we are big fans of dogs. We want safe encounters and happy lives for dogs and the people they meet. We thought that a look at the dog bite problem in California would remind dog owners to take action to keep dogs out of trouble and their neighbors safe from harm.
How Many People Are Killed by Dog Bites in the U.S.?
Far too many people suffer dog bites in the U.S. each year. Children are especially at risk in these situations. The National Library of Medicine reports that one estimate puts a child’s chance of being bitten by a dog at 50% over their young lives.
These are some other important statistics to illustrate the growing issue of dog bites involving all breeds of dogs in every corner of America.
- The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) reports that around 4.5 million Americans suffer dog bite wounds a year.
- The CDC reports that between 2011 and 2021, 468 people died after being bitten or struck by a dog.
- On average, 43 people a year tragically lost their lives in dog bite attack incidents over that decade.
- The AVMA reports that between 2012 and 2022, State Farm has paid over $1.3 BILLION for dog-related injury claims
- The AVMA found that the average cost of a dog bite insurance claim in 2022 was $64,555.
The most recent CDC figures show that deaths caused by dog bites have continued to rise in recent years, right on through the pandemic year of 2020. We await 2022 and 2023 official dog bite statistics to see if this frightening trend continues into 2024.
What’s the State with the Most Dog Bite Deaths?
When looking at a 16-year span in the U.S., some states were clearly leading the way in the unfortunate statistics for dog bites. California, Texas, and Florida in order are the most populous states and it stands to reason that they would be at the top of a list of dog fatalities each year.
DogsBite.org looked at dog bite fatalities in each state over a 16-year period between 2005 and 2020. California topped the list with 63 tragic deaths in that time. Some states were left out of the study due to insufficient data.
What Breeds Cause the Most Deaths Due to Dog Bites?
DogsBite.org examined dog bite cases over a 15-year period in America. During this period at least 521 Americans lost their lives in dog attacks.
Researchers found that Pit Bulls were involved with the majority of fatal dog bites in the United States. Rottweilers made up a distant second with their involvement in about 10% of cases.
The same study went beyond percentages and documented the individual attacks attributed to different dog breeds over the same period. Pit Bulls continue to be involved in too many attacks. This is often attributed to the negligence of owners who may fail to socialize Pit Bulls properly and give them a proper environment and secure shelter to live in. In some cases, owners are guilty of training their dogs to be aggressive.
It’s often another case of a dog being put in situations that a dog owner should never allow to happen. It’s a failure that the owners of many different types of dogs are guilty of. Pit Bulls were responsible for at least 346 deadly incidents from 2005 to 2019. Rottweilers were the second most common dog to be involved in an attack with 51 cases attributed to the breed.
Finding Help After a California Dog Bite Incident
California is like many states in that it holds dog owners responsible for any harm their dogs cause in almost any instance. Our state is a “strict liability” state, meaning that dog owners can be held liable for a victim’s recovery costs even if the dog has never bitten anyone previously.
These devastating bites can cause long-term damage to victims and even leave them with a disability. Medical bills can continue to build for months or even be necessary for a lifetime. That’s why it’s critical that victims and their families hold dog owners and their insurance providers responsible for every physical, emotional, and financial hardship they face. There are benefits available to dog bite victims that insurance companies won’t always mention.
You can visit the Maison Law dog bite page to find out what to do if you or a loved one are the victim of a serious dog bite injury anywhere in California.
