A Dog Bite or Animal Attack on a Child or Children
Our Pittsburgh lawyers handle dog bite injury claims for a child or children. In fact, some of the most gruesome dog bite cases we see involve kids, tragically. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, children pay a disproportionate price compared to adults:
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), children account for greater than 50 percent of all dog bite victims. In adults, only 12 percent require medical treatment. However, for children, 26 percent need emergency care via hospital or clinic.
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Place of the Dog Bite Attack
According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, in 2022, 38.4% or 48,255,413 of American households owned dogs. That is a lot of dogs! The most common place for attack is the home of the child. The second most common place for a kid to g getting bitten is the residence of a friend.
Extent of Danger From dog Bite Attacks on Children
According to the CDC, dog bite injuries to a child or children:
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- Present a greater problem for kids than measles or mumps and whooping cough, together.
- Are more common than injuries from bike accidents, playground injuries, mopeds, skateboards or ATVsl
- Cost more than a billion dollars each year.
- Boys ages five to nine are bitten the most.
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In all case, the area of the injury is most often facial area, neck or head.
Are the Kids Provoking the Dogs?
Two-thirds of the bites to children are by family pets, and most prevalent bites are among boys ages 5-9 (Click here for more). Typically, according to an article by Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, the victim did not do anything to directly provoke the attack. “Fifty percent of all dog bite victims are children” and “77% of biting dogs are owned by the victim’s family, a relative or a friend of the family”. Plus, the same article cites the CDC in saying that “…Dog bites are a greater health problem for children than measles, mumps and whooping cough combined. They are more common than injuries from bike accidents, playground injuries, mopeds, skateboards or ATVs”.
Regardless of the reason for the attack, under the Pennsylvania Dog Law, the owner of an attacking or biting dog is legally liable for resulting damages. These can include the costs of all of the victim’s medical bills, disfigurement, pain and suffering, and bills for psychological trauma from the dog attack.
Liability For An Attack on a Child or Children
Regardless of the reason for the attack, under the Pennsylvania Dog Law, the owner of an attacking or biting dog is legally liable for covering the costs of all of the victim’s medical bills, including bills for psychological trauma from the dog attack.
Emotional Harm to Children or Children from Dog Bite
Children love dogs. An attack can not only cause physical injuries to the child, it can also cause a fear of all dogs plus severe emotional distress. This, in turn, can isolate the child, making him or her reluctant to social with anyone who has a dog, including family members.
Preventing a Dog Bite From Happening Again to a Child
How can children be kept safe from dog attacks? Dogs bite people for many different reasons. For example, sometimes the child (or adult) has done something that frightened or angered the dog, and sometimes the victim is simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
But sometimes, the dog will will be a long leash (or no restraint) and without provocation, it will attack a child walking on the sidewalk, like the what happened in the Dormont PA area of Pittsburgh this year. Often there is no reason for the attack that can be determined, per Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.
Dogs Owned by People You Know: Special Considerations
Our Pittsburgh Lawyers looks at the facts in every dog bite case involving a child. Often, the owner of a dangerous dog is your neighbor, or friend, or family member. Thus, we understand that dog owners are not always “evil.” We are sensitive to this issue. Secondly, we understand that Insurance usually covers these injuries, so your claim (outside of court) is not “personal.” Liability insurance exists for a reason.
Third, one claim will not necessarily cause your neighbor, or friend, or family member’s insurance to go up at all. Importantly, when you need us to be sensitive, we are. We listen to you and are sure to avoid harming your relationship with a neighbor or someone else you value.
When the claim against someone you care about, our dog bite attorneys are careful to get such claims settled short of filing suit, discretely, and without insulting or damaging the neighbor of your family member, or friend, or neighbor who owns the dog.
What Can a Civil Lawyer Do
Some dog owners, unfortunately, ignore criminal charges against them. Sometimes it takes a dog bite claim for the dog owner to start taking measures to protect the public from his dog.
The bottom line is: your civil claim for monetary compensation for injuries from a dog bite is key. It might be the only thing that prevents the dog from biting someone else, again. Thus, our Pittsburgh dog bite lawyers are eager to help bring the claim to light and get you the compensation that you and/or your child deserve.
Knowing the Value of a Child’s Dog Bite Claim
Our Pittsburgh lawyers seek full compensation for the host of problems that a family faces when a child is bitten. These include not only pain and suffering and disfigurement. There can also be developmental difficulties for the child, embarrassment, trouble at school, trouble making new friends, complicating of pre-existing conditions, depression, nightmares, anxiety, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and the fact of an facing an uncertain (and potentially very difficult) future in terms of corrective surgical options.
Special Procedures for Minors
Claims on behalf of minors cannot be settled absent court approval. In fact, court approval is necessary to settle these claims (even when no lawsuit has been filed). This is needed for two reasons: (1) to ensure the amount of settlement is fair (under all the circumstances), and (2) to protect the child’s right to settlement proceeds to be held in trust. In fact, in every case, the courts order that a lawyer create a special trust account for the benefit of the minor upon the minor turning 18 and showing the bank proof of identification. At our firm, there is no extra fee for us to set up a special trust account and present a petition in Orphan’s Court to obtain court approval.
There are also special filing procedures, requiring confidentiality of the child’s name, vital information, and documents related to the child. Your lawyer must be familiar with these unique procedures, or there could be lengthy delays in terms of resolving the claim.
Savings Accounts and Annuities For Children who are Bitten
Court ordered trust accounts can be administered by any bank; however, the amount of interest is negligible. That said, some insurance Companies, such as Erie, for example, will give the injury party the option of putting some of the money into an annuity. This provides a better return that the average saving account.
Special Considerations
The court will take into account special need on the part of the child. In fact, the court asked to approve settlement will look at current expenses and future medical costs. Your dog bite attorney should be very careful, skilled, and experience to fully protect your child’s interests in this matter.
Statute of Limitations For a Child’s Dog Bite Claim in PA
The statute of limitations is 2 years in PA to sue for injuries from a dog bite. See 42 PA CSA § 5524. However, for a child, the two-year limitation period does not start running until the child’s eighteenth birthday. So for example, if a child is eight (8) years old when bitten, the statute of limitations on his claim for injuries will not start running for another 10 years, or until he’s age 18, giving him approximately twelve (12) years from the date of the attack to file suit, but he should never wait that long, as the memories of witnesses — needed to prove the claim — will fade.
Appointing a Proper Guardian
Our Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania lawyers get court approval of a settlement on behalf of a minor by the guardian or parents. This raises special problems, however, because not all parents are married, nor can they agree on how a child’s case could be settled. We work to make sure the parties with proper standing (both parents) work together.
We help parents of a child or children bitten. Thus, you might be asking: “my kid was bitten? Now what?” We will walk you through the process, during a free consultation from counsel.