Complications of Dog Bites

Human and dogs have been together for a very long time. History indicates that since prehistoric times, humans have already taken care of dogs as companions in hunting. Nowadays, people take dogs in their homes as pets or as guards against burglars.

Even though humans have long domesticated dogs, statistics prove that dogs have yet to lose their instinct to bite their prey. According to the website DogBites.org, dogs severely bite some 30 to 35 Americans every year. This is supported by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which stated through its records that around 4.7 million are bitten annually. Those who would need to have medical treatment are about 800,000; half of the 800,000 are identified as children.

Being bitten by dogs is a serious matter. The bite itself can be composed of extensive lacerations, deep punctures, loss of blood, grave infection, and even ugly scars after the wounds have healed. The infections can be downright deadly due to the tetanus bacteria and rabies virus. These severe infectious organisms thrive in dogs’ teeth or through their saliva.

Both of the rabies and tetanus target the nervous system of the victim. They are injected to the blood stream through the wound. Some of the symptoms when a person is infected include muscle spasms, fever, and in advance stages, drooling.

Mauling scars, on the other hand, may require reconstructive surgery. This kind of injury is quite an ugly sight and the effects that the victim bear may no longer be physical, but emotional. Children who had become victims to dog mauling may develop problems dealing socially in the future due to the gravity of their injuries. There was one case cited by Dogsbite.org where a little girl seems to fail to grow emotionally and physiologically after a dog mauling accident.

Parents would definitely find it hard to face emotional hardship if their children fall victims to this kind of accident, especially if it was a neighbor’s, a relative’s or an acquaintance’s dog that caused their loved ones’ injury. If a family could not anymore afford the expenses of treatment, they can hire the services of a Los Angeles accident attorney to recover monetary support through damages awards.