Dog Bite Injuries to Children
Dog bite injuries can be traumatic, especially for children. They can also result in significant injuries and damages to children for which compensation can be sought from the dog owner under certain circumstances. These injuries and damages often include:
- Physical pain and suffering (past, present and future)
- Medical expenses
- Scarring and other disfigurement
- Mental suffering like shock, anxiety, worry, etc.
- Wrongful death
Children are injured from dog bites more often than others.
Children generally are more susceptible to dog bite injuries than adults, in part because their size makes them more vulnerable to bites in the head/neck region and secondly because their youthful personality makes them more likely to approach or attempt to play with dogs without warning. According to the National Center for Biotechnical Information, a division of the National Institutes for Health, approximately 400,000 children receive medical treatment for dog bite injuries every year in the United States.
Dog owners who know their dog has violent tendencies must exercise extreme caution to keep the dog away from children. Owners must also abide by leash laws to prevent uncontrolled contact between children and dangerous dogs. When dog owners fail to exercise such care, the results can be catastrophic.
Dog Bite injuries and Fatalities Caused by Pit Bulls
According to numerous studies, the risk of dog bite injuries to children increases dramatically when they come into contact with certain breeds, especially Pit Bulls. In fact, if someone you loved was killed by a dog, the chances are that it was caused by a Pit Bull.
According to reports from www.dogsbite.org, Pit Bulls were responsible for over 60% of the dog bite fatalities in the United States from 2005 thru 2016. When you add in Rottweillers, the two breeds together account for over 75% of all dog bite fatalities. That equates to over 250 people during that 16 year period alone, and unfortunately many of those were children.
Our law firm has handled numerous dog bite cases in Augusta, Athens, Atlanta and the surrounding areas involving children injured by pit bulls. Sometimes it occurs when the parents let their child go over to someone else’s house to play, and unbeknownst to them the family has a pit bull that attacks and seriously injures their child. Sadly this is all too common.
If your child has been injured by a Pit Bull, contact one of the experienced dog bite attorneys at Burnside Law Firm today for a free consultation.