• 27
  • April
    2011

When Sacramento restaurateurs banded together this year to raise funds for a sales rep who had suffered horrific injuries when attacked by a pit bull, it underscored the tremendous burden in medical expenses that dog bites can cause. She required a series of reconstructive surgeries to rebuild her nose, half of which had been ripped away when the previously playful dog turned vicious.

While particularly brutal, this was no isolated incident: in late April, a woman pulled a gun and sicced her pit bull on an individual with whom she had argued. Sacramento Animal Care Services investigators looked into 165 animal attacks in 2010, the majority of which involved pit bulls.

A study of nearly 30 years of press accounts of dog attacks found that pit bulls accounted for nearly half of all dog bite fatalities in the U.S. and Canada, though they represent less than one half of one percent of the dog population. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that 4.5 million Americans suffer dog bites each year. 20 percent of victims require medical attention, including as many as 31,000 reconstructive surgeries a year.

Those who suffer lacerations, torn cartilage, severe scarring and emotional trauma should not have to suffer quietly when owners fail to restrain their pets. Section 3342 of the California Civil Code provides that the "owner of any dog is liable for the damages suffered by any person who is bitten by the dog while in a public place or lawfully in a private place, including the property of the owner of the dog, regardless of the former viciousness of the dog or the owner's knowledge of such viciousness."

A California personal injury lawyer can explain how this statute creates "strict liability," which means that the victim does not have to prove that the pet owner was negligent. It doesn't matter whether the pet was a fight-trained pit bull or a lap-dwelling toy poodle. A dog's sharp teeth and strong jaws can cause severe damage in moments, particularly to children, and a Sacramento dog bite attorney can help victims and family members explore their legal options to file a lawsuit and hold the owner accountable.