Elements of Dog Bite Law

    Dog bites occur every 75 seconds in the US. Each day, over 1,000 citizens need ER care to treat these bites. The following studies examine injury occurrence from dog bites. Frequency of dog bite injury in the US (2001)
    In 2001, the Center for Disease and Control published a study that examines the frequency of US dog bite injuries treated by emergency care facilities.
Study Highlights In 1994, the most recent year for which published data are available, an estimated 4.7 million dog bites occurred in the United States and approximately 799,700 persons required medical care.Of an estimated 333,700 patients treated for dog bites in emergency departments in 1994, approximately 6,000 were hospitalized.In 2001, an estimated 368,245 persons were treated in US emergency rooms for nonfatal dog bite-related injuries.42% of dog bites in 2001 occurred among children aged 14 years and younger; injury rates were highest among children aged 5-9 years and were significantly higher for boys than for girls.For injured persons of all ages in 2001, approximately 4.5% of dog bite injuries were work related (occurred to persons delivering mail, packages or food; working at an animal clinic of shelter; or doing home repair work of installations).Injuries occurred most commonly to the arm/hand (45.3%), leg/foot (25.8%), and head/neck (22.8%). The majority (64.9%) of injuries among children aged 4 years and younger were to the head/neck region.Injury diagnoses were described frequently as "dog bite" (26.4%); other diagnoses included puncture (40.2%), laceration (24.7%), contusion/abrasion/hematoma (6.0%), cellulitis/infection (1.5%), amputation/avulsion/crush (0.8%), and fracture/dislocation (0.4%).
Which dogs bite?
    The city of Denver did a study that focused on the type of dog most likely to bite. Biters are 6.2 times as likely to be male than femaleBiters are 2.6 times as likely to be intact than neuteredBiters are 2.8 times as likely to be chained as unchained
Nonfatal Dog Bite-Related Injuries Treated in Hospital Emergency Departments - United States, 2001, by J Gilchrist, MD, Div of Unintentional Injury Prevention; K Gotsch, MPH, JL Annest, PhD, G Ryan, PhD, Office of Statistics and Programming, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, CDC