Dog Bite Statistics and News

Dog Bite Statistics and News

Dog Bite Statistics and News

• There are approximately 65 million dogs in the United States in 2006
• Of the 4.7 million people are bitten every year, 800,000 need medical attention
• Every day an estimated 914 people seek emergency medical treatment due to dog bites
• On average, between 15 and 20 people die each year from dog maulings
• Children are the most common victims of dog bites, and half of the injuries they suffer occur on the face
• Economic losses from dog bites regularly exceed $1 billion, only a third of which is covered by insurance
• Between 1979 and 1996 there were 304 fatal dog attacks
• Most (77%) dog bite injuries occur to the friends or family
• Pit Bulls, Rottweilers, and German Shepard Dogs account for half of the fatal dog attacks between 1979 and 1998
• Dog bites rose 33% according to a study of a 7 year period in the 1990s
• There were 30 dog bite-related fatalities in California between 1979 and 1996
• In 2002 homeowner insurance claims paid on average $16,600 to victims of dog bites, up from $12,000 in 1998

Unless they are particularly horrific, dog bites rarely make the local news.  The following stories do highlight latest developments in legal proceedings that may affect your case.

The Supreme Court of California will decide whether a dog owner can be convicted of murder if their dog kills someone.  Marjorie Knoller was charged with second degree murder in 2001 when her Presa Canario dogs mauled Diane Whipple in her apartment building.   The disposition of the dogs and reasons these people possessed such dangerous animals significantly contributed to the filing of murder charges, and the case is scheduled to go to trial again in 2006.

In December 2005 a jury found an owner of three Pit Bulls guilty of involuntary manslaughter for the mauling of an 82 year old woman in Virginia.