Daytona Beach Dog Bite Lawyer

Dog Bite Attorney Serving Injury Victims in Daytona Beach, Florida

Although the Insurance Information Institute (III) estimates that about 68 percent of households have pets, dog bite injuries frequently involve family pets. While cats and dogs can be comforting companions, they can also place people at higher risk of a serious injury—especially children. More than 60 percent of households have at least one dog, increasing the risk of a dog bite injury in the home. People in households with more than one dog have an even higher risk of sustaining a dog bite injury. Friends and family members, and even acquaintances, who visit households with dogs are more likely than other people to sustain injuries in a dog attack.

If you or someone you love sustained a dog bite injury, the dog owner may be liable. To learn more about filing a claim, you should speak with a Daytona Beach dog bite lawyer today.

Getting the Facts About Dog Bites in Daytona Beach

Dog bites happen more often than you might think. The following are some facts and figures from DogsBite.org:

• 1,000 people, on average, require treatment in an emergency room every day for dog bite injuries;
• Approximately 9,500 people are hospitalized each year due to the severity of dog bite injuries;
• About 4.5 million dog bites occur every year in the U.S. alone;
• Around 20 percent of dog bites become infected;
• Almost 27,000 people had reconstructive surgery in 2018 as a result of a dog bite injury;
• Insurance claims for dog bite injuries totaled $675 million in 2018;
• Households with two or more dogs are five times as likely as people in homes without dogs to suffer a dog bite injury; and
• Dog bite victims collectively lose anywhere from $1 billion to $2 billion annually;
• Pit bulls are most often associated with dog bite injuries, especially when the dog bite happens to an unknown individual;
• About 53 percent of dogs who bite belonged to a family, and bit a family member or friend; and
• Children are most frequently the victims of fatal dog bite incidents, with infants and toddlers between the ages of 0-2 accounting for nearly one-third of all deadly dog bite injuries.

Strict Liability and Daytona Beach Dog Bite Claims

While many types of personal injury claims operate on a theory of negligence, dog bite claims are strict liability claims under Florida law (Fla. Stat. § 767.04), dog owners are strictly liable for injuries caused by a dog bite as long as one of the following is true of the dog bite victim:

• On or in a public place; or
• Lawfully on or in a private place.

In other words, a dog owner does not have to be negligent in any way for the dog bite victim to hold the dog owner accountable for injuries. Rather, as long as the dog bite victim was not trespassing, the dog owner is responsible for injuries caused by a dog bite even if there was no negligence. The mere fact that the dog owner owns the dog makes that dog owner liable.

Contact a Daytona Beach Dog Bite Injury Lawyer

If you or your child sustained injuries in a dog bite incident, you may be able to file a claim for compensation. A Daytona Beach dog bite attorney can help. Contact The Pendas Law Firm today.