Each year in America over 300,000 dog bites require medical care in the emergency room. Dog or other animal bites can cause serious injuries which may require surgery and result extensive scarring and psychological damage.
In most states, in order to recover for injuries caused by a dog bite, the victim must show that the owner knew or reasonably should have known of the dangerous propensities of the dog. This is sometimes referred to as the “one bite” rule. However, a previous biting incident is not normally strictly required – it may be enough to show the animal behaved aggressively towards other people or animals or that the dog was selected because of its aggressive nature. Other states have statutory liability under a dog bite statute or a leash law.
Some insurance companies are limiting the coverage for dog bite injuries because experience has shown that certain breeds of dogs tend to attack more often and cause more serious injuries when they attack. The breeds of dogs most noted for the frequency and seriousness of their attacks include:
