Dog Bites & Animal Attacks

Dog bites are very common, for both adults and children. They can have serious consequences, including permanent disfigurement, nerve and tissue damage and psychological trauma. In extreme cases, they may result in death. Of course, it is not possible to know in advance whether a dog will attack -- even the nicest, gentlest dogs have been known to bite.

Seattle Animal Control sees about 300 dog bites each year. 22% of those involve Pit Bulls.

If you or a family member has suffered due to a dog attack or dog bite, the Davis Law Group can help you. Having experience with this type of claim, we have the skill and experience necessary to represent you.

FREE Case Review
Contact us now for a FREE conversation about your dog bite case. There is no obligation to hire a lawyer.  We are usually retained on a contingency fee basis. There is no fee until our personal injury attorneys successfully recover fair compensation for you.

Recognized For Dog Bite & Animal Attack Experience And Innovation In Washington State

Seattle attorney Chris Davis has been recognized by his peers has a very experienced and successful personal injury and accident attorney.  He has been named a "Rising Star Attorney" and a "Super Lawyer" by other experienced lawyers in the field of personal injury law.  Mr. Davis has successfully recovered dozens of settlements and jury verdicts at great odds and by sheer perseverence and work ethic.  Many times Mr. Davis has recovered jury verdicts that are greater than 8 or 10 times the amount of the insurance company's last or "final" offer before trial.  Insurance companies are very aware of Mr. Davis' success in the courtroom, and as a result will usually offer him a premium settlement offer to avoid trial.  You can count on Mr. Davis to recover the highest settlement offer the insurance company is prepared to give before trial.

National Dog Bite Statistics

Nearly 4.7 million people are bitten by dogs each year and 50% of dog bite fatalities are children under 10 years old. These dog bites range from minor injuries to serious dog maulings, resulting in bodily injury and even death.

In the United States alone, approximately 100 children are bitten by dogs every day and approximately 92 of these children will need medical attention. Statistically 15 to 20 people are killed in vicious fatal dog attacks every year. One third of all injury claims against homeowner liability policies are related to dog bites and dog attacks.

Library for Dog Bites & Animal Attacks:

• NEWS: Pit bulls terrorize West Seattle neighborhood   
  Description: SEATTLE - A pit bull attack forced police to open fire near the Westwood Village shopping center in West Seattle.
• NEWS: Group calls for pit bull ban after West Seattle attack   
  Description: A pit bull attack in Seattle has left a girl with serious facial wounds, and rekindled the debate over dangerous dogs in the city.
• NEWS: Seattle citizens to vote on ban of fighting dogs   
  Description: "Pit-bull paradoxes: Sweet or Savage" left out some very pertinent facts about pit bull attacks in Seattle.
• NEWS: Pit Bull That Attacked Seattle Girl Could Go Free   
  Description: Seattle Animal Control sees about 300 dog bites each year. 22% of those involve Pit Bulls.
• NEWS: Seattle girl hospitalized after pit-bull attack   
  Description: A West Seattle girl was hospitalized Tuesday afternoon after being bitten by a pit bull.
• ARTICLE: Fatal dog attacks   
  Description: This pie chart shows the number of fatal dog attacks from 1979 to 1998.
• ARTICLE: Dog attacks on rise   
  Description: Vicious dog attacks, including one that required a 6-year-old boy to be rushed to the hospital, are on the rise.
• LAW: Chapter 16.08 RCW Dogs (formerly dangerous dogs)   
  Description: RCW Sections
  16.08.010 Liability for injury to stock by dogs.
  16.08.020 Dogs injuring stock may be killed.
  16.08.030 Marauding dog -- Duty of owner to kill.
  16.08.040 Dog bites -- Liability.
  16.08.050 Entrance on private property, when lawful.
  16.08.060 Provocation as a defense.
  16.08.070 Dangerous dogs and related definitions.
  16.08.080 Dangerous dogs -- Notice to owners -- Right of appeal -- Certificate of registration required -- Surety bond -- Liability insurance -- Restrictions.
  16.08.090 Dangerous dogs -- Requirements for restraint -- Potentially dangerous dogs -- Dogs not declared dangerous.
  16.08.100 Dangerous dogs -- Confiscation -- Conditions -- Duties of animal control authority -- Penalties and affirmative defenses for owners of dogs that attack -- Dog fights, penalty.
• REPORT: A community approach to dog bite prevention.   
  Description: AVMA Task Force on Canine Aggression and Human-Canine Interactions. A community approach to dog bite prevention.* JAVMA 2001; 218: 1732-1749. This 2001 report, intended for communities interested in developing a comprehensive bite prevention program, includes model legislation for the control of dangerous dogs.
• REPORT: Nonfatal Dog Bite   
  Description: CDC. Nonfatal Dog Bite--Related Injuries Treated in Hospital Emergency Departments--United States, 2001. MMWR 2003; 52(26): 605-610.
• REPORT: Dog-Bite-Related Fatalities   
  Description: CDC. Dog-Bite-Related Fatalities - United States, 1995-1996. MMWR 1997;46:463-7.
  Details are provided on the approximately 12 annual deaths from dog attacks. Data are provided on dog breeds involved in fatal attacks from 1979. Recommendations on reducing dog bites are included.
• REPORT: Which dogs bite?   
  Description: Gershman KA, Sacks JJ, Wright JC. Which dogs bite? A case-control study of risk factors. Pediatrics 1994;93:913-7.
  Biting and non-biting dogs in Denver are compared. Biting dogs were more likely to be male, unneutered, and chained.
• REPORT: Hospitalizations for Dog Bite Injuries   
  Description: Quinlan KP, Sacks JJ. Hospitalizations for Dog Bite Injuries [letter] JAMA 1999; 281:232-233.
  Data are provided on the 6,000 hospitalizations for dog bites in 1994, and medical care cost estimates are provided for medically treated dog bites.
• REPORT: Breeds of dogs involved in fatal human attacks in the United States between 1979 and 1998.   
  Description: Sacks JJ, Sinclair L, Gilchrist J, Golab GC, Lockwood R. Breeds of dogs involved in fatal human attacks in the United States between 1979 and 1998. JAVMA 2000;217:836-840.
  This article lists the breeds involved in fatal attacks over 20 years. It does not identify specific breeds that are most likely to bite or kill, and thus is not appropriate for policy-making decisions related to the topic. Each year, 4.7 million Americans are bitten by dogs. These bites result in approximately 16 fatalities; about 0.0002 percent of the total number of people bitten. These relatively few fatalities offer the only available information about breeds involved in dog bites. There is currently no accurate way to identify the number of dogs of a particular breed, and consequently no measure to determine which breeds are more likely to bite or kill.
• REPORT: Dog bites: how big a problem?   
  Description: Sacks JJ, Kresnow M, Houston B. Dog bites: how big a problem? Injury Prevention 1996;2:52-4.
  Annually in the United States 4.7 million people are bitten by dogs. Of these, approximately 800,000 people require medical attention. That is, each year 1.8% of the U.S. population is bitten by a dog, and 0.3% of the U.S. population seeks medical care for a bite.
• REPORT: Fatal dog attacks, 1989-1994   
  Description: Sacks JJ, Lockwood R, Hornreich J, Sattin RW. Fatal dog attacks, 1989-1994. Pediatrics 1996;97:891-5.
  Details are provided on the approximately 12 annual deaths from dog attacks and data are provided on dog breeds involved in fatal attacks.
• REPORT: Dog bite-related fatalities in the United States, 1979-1988   
  Description: ks JJ, Sattin RW, Bonzo SE. Dog bite-related fatalities in the United States, 1979-1988. JAMA 1989;262:1489-92.
  Provides details on the approximately 12 annual deaths from dog attacks and data on dog breeds involved in fatal attacks.
• REPORT: Causes of non-fatal injuries in the United States, 1986.   
  Description: Sosin DM, Sacks JJ, Sattin RW. Causes of non-fatal injuries in the United States, 1986. Accident Analysis and Prevention 1992; 24:685-687.
  Data collected from the National Health Interview Survey estimated that there were 585,000 dog bites requiring medical attention in 1986. Dog bites were the 12th leading cause of non-fatal injuries for all age groups in the United States.
• NEWS: Dog Mauling Case Ends With Guilty Verdict   
  Description: The Onalaska man who owns the property where a toddler was mauled by a pack of dogs last summer will face as much as a year in jail when he is sentenced next month.
• FACTS & FIGURES: The number of dog bite and dog attack victims   
  Description: A survey by the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta ("CDC") concluded that dogs bite nearly 2% of the U.S. population -- more than 4.7 million people annually.
• FACTS & FIGURES: Fatal Dog Attacks in the USA   
  Description: The yearly number of fatal dog attacks in the USA is variously reported as 12, 17 and 26. The different numbers result from different studies which took place in different years. It is most accurate to say that the average number was 17 in the 1980s and 1990s, and that it has risen to 26 in this decade.
• NEWS: Pit bull owners charged for Gig Harbor mauling   
  Description: The owners of two pit bull dogs that attacked a woman in her home near Gig Harbor have been charged with owning dangerous dogs.
• NEWS: Pit-bull owner cited twice before, could face felony charges   
  Description: The owner of two pit bulls that mauled a Pierce County woman in her home and killed another dog has been cited twice in the past three years for letting the dogs run loose in the neighborhood, according to district-court records.
• NEWS: Dog-pack mauling critically injures 1-year-old boy   
  Description: At least five dogs mauled a 1-year-old boy in Onalaska, Lewis County, Tuesday, leaving him with life-threatening injuries.
• NEWS: Woman mauled by dogs she bought for protection   
  Description: A woman is recovering in a hospital after a severe mauling by three of her dogs — Rottweiler-chow mixes she bought for protection.
• NEWS: Auburn OKs new dog law based on actions, not weight   
  Description: The City Council unanimously approved a reworked dangerous-dog ordinance that defines a potentially dangerous dog as one that, when unprovoked, bites, chases or threatens a person or domestic animal, or is known to have bitten a person or domestic animal.
• NEWS: Fatal mauling of boy, 3, may test pet-owner law   
  Description: If county prosecutors decide to charge the owner of a pit bull that fatally mauled a 3-year-old boy it could be the first test of the state's recently amended law governing owners' responsibilities for their pets' destructive behaviors.
• NEWS: Family dog bites, kills 8-month-old   
  Description: An 8-month-old boy was bitten on the head by his family's dog.
• NEWS: Life after a put bull attack   
  Description: ...but his world began to crumble after he veered around a man walking his pit bull. The pit bull attacked.
• NEWS: Pit bulls bit Mount Baker man and kill his dog   
  Description: ...saw the two pit bulls just as he rounded the corner in his quiet Mount Baker neighborhood early Tuesday morning, but it was too late. The pit bulls were on him and his dog, Margaret Thatcher, within seconds.
• ARTICLE: Insurance industry targets mythical 'biting' breeds   
  Description: If you own a dog, you could see your homeowners' insurance rates rise, or your insurance decline, based on the breed of dog you have (you know, one of the "dangerous" ones: pit bulls, Rottweilers). Never mind the obedience titles those breeds earn. The industry's promulgation of urban myths about the danger of certain breeds is an effort to gain control of a market for profit.

Frequent Questions for Dog Bites & Animal Attacks:

• How many people die every year as a result of dog bites?
  
• Why do some dogs bite?
  
• Which dogs most commonly bite? Are some breeds more likely to bite than others?
• How can local laws prevent dog bites?
  

Videos about Dog Bites & Animal Attacks:

• What should you do if you are attacked by a dog?

Case Results for Dog Bites & Animal Attacks:

• $165,000 for 5 yr-old Girl Bitten on Face and Scalp - $165,000 Settlement
• $125,000 for Bite on Arms & Legs - $125,000 Settlement
• $150,000 Settlement for 12 year old boy - $150,000 Settlement

Web Resources for Dog Bites & Animal Attacks:

• All American Premier Breeds Association

  Description: The world's most competitive dog registry, the AAPBA.

• Seattle Animal Shelter
• National Dog Bite Prevention Week

  Description: The third full week of May is National Dog Bite Prevention Week, and the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), the United States Postal Service, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are each working to educate Americans about dog bite prevention.

• Nonfatal Dog Bite

  Description: CDC. Nonfatal Dog Bite--Related Injuries Treated in Hospital Emergency Departments--United States, 2001. MMWR 2003; 52(26): 605-610.

• DogGoneSafe

  Description: A non-profit organization dedicated to Dog Bite Prevention

• The Wenatchee Valley Humane Society

  Description: The Wenatchee Valley Humane Society was founded in 1967 by a group of determined women (private citizens) that recognized and wanted to care for lost, abandoned and stray animals in our community and provide them chance for new homes.

• Dog Bite Law

  Description: A non-commercial website, updated daily, authored by the USA's leading legal expert in dog bite law.

• National Dog Bite Prevention Week

  Description: The third full week of May is National Dog Bite Prevention Week, and the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), the United States Postal Service, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are each working to educate Americans about dog bite prevention.

• Stay Dog Bite Free

  Description: Looking for information on preventing and avoiding dog bites?

• How To Care For Cat and Dog Bites

  Description: Here are some things you should do to take care of a wound caused by a cat or dog bite.

• Dogbite Awareness - US Postal Service

  Description: Every spring the U.S. Postal Service calls attention to what continues to be one of the nation's most commonly reported public health problems: dog bites.

• Doggone Safe

  Description: Doggone Safe provides educational programs to teach about dog bite prevention for schools, parents, expectant parents and workers.

• Families and Dogs Against Fighting Breeds

  Description: We don't allow dog fighting. Why allow fighting breeds in Seattle neighborhoods and parks?

Davis Law Group
2101 Fourth Avenue
Suite 630
Seattle, WA 98121

Toll Free: (800) 883-0265
Phone: (206) 727-4000