Pennsylvania Animal Attack Laws:Does Your Dog Bite?
A routine evening dog walk for a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania pedestrian after dinner quickly turned into a disastrous Pennsylvania dog bite accident, which poses the question, does your dog bite? When my client took his girlfriend's prized pit bull for a walk after returning home from a restaurant, another dog owner was also walking his dog, and my client's dog became attracted to this pooch at this late evening hour. Almost immediately my client was unable to control the physical pull of his dog's curious or romantic emotions at which point the pit bull then turned around and proceeded to strip the meat off of his walker's arms and legs in an effort to break free and discover the other seemingly innocent dog. My client's girlfriend tried to intervene and was also viciously attacked resulting in serious and permanent personal injuries, disfigurement and scarring.
The police were called and upon arrival had no choice but to shoot the uncontrollable dog twice, which broke free and continued to attack despite the bullet wounds. A third shot finally ended the attack. No, this was not "Cujo". My client was rushed to the emergency room of a Philadelphia Hospital for treatment and, believe it or not, when released from the hospital, he was then run over by a car which thereafter backed up again over him causing him to sustain multiple broken bones, bodily disfigurement ,permanent scarring, head trauma and nerve damage. To quote Ripley of "Believe it or Not" fame, sometimes facts are stranger than fiction. Not a very good night!...From a vicious and crippling dog bite to an innocent pedestrian being struck two times by a motor vehicle.
This client was seriously injured and received a serious animal bite. The client wanted serious lawyers who would be passionate, devoted and aggressive to ensure justice. He contacted the experienced dog bite lawyers at the Philadelphia law firm of Reiff and Bily.
As a dog lover, I have noticed a fad in that we are seeing more pit bulls and pit bull dog mixes in our neighborhoods. There are numerous fatal attacks on dogs, other animals and pets, as well as attacks on people, involving pit bull dogs. In fact, many of the pit bull dogs are born not ready to bite, but to fight and kill.
There is a dog bite epidemic in the United States. There are almost 5 million dog bite victims annually which is about 2% of the entire population. 800,000 of these people need medical attention and a thousand people per day need treatment in hospital emergency rooms. Dog bite lawsuits exceed $1 million dollars per year with over $3 million dollars paid by insurance carriers. Of the 800,000 dog bites per year, one out of every six are serious enough to require serious medical attention according to the Journal of American Medicine. Believe it or not, getting bitten by a dog is the fifth most frequent cause of visits to emergency rooms caused by activities common among children.
Our research at the personal injury and Pennsylvania dog bite law firm of Reiff and Bily has indicated that the number of fatal dog attacks has been increasing. It appears clear that the number of dog bites has risen dramatically in the past twenty (20) years despite the fact that the ownership of the number of dogs in the United States has not increased as significantly. Over 50% of all dog bites occur on the dog owner's property. A vast majority of biting dogs belong to the victim's family or friends.
