Consequences of Dog Bites to Child Casualties

Humans used dogs before as hunting companions. However, this had changed through the years as the need for food was commercialized by certain industries. Hunting became passé and dogs were no longer treated as games, but as pets.

These days’ pet dogs range from the large Great Danes up to the tiny Chihuahuas. Dog breeds differ in every household depending on the owners’ preferences. Sometimes, such animals serve as family guards driving thieves away or act as companions bringing comfort to lonesome individuals.

Because of the popularity of caring for such animals, it is not surprising then that dog bite cases also grew to great rates during the past years. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), around 4.7 million Americans were bitten every year by these animals. Each year as well, some 800,000 individuals need medical treatment for the bites that they suffered. Half of these numbers were children, since toddlers were common victims of dog mauling due to their size and frail bodies.

Unknown to many, these attacks were often fatal due to the deep wounds that they create. Some victims even lose too much blood or become infected with deadly virus and bacteria. These infections were namely the tetanus bacteria and the rabies virus.  Both of these infections attack the nervous system of the victim and cause their early deaths. Most of the time, treatments are quite expensive especially if the wounds would need reconstructive surgery to restore the skin’s normal appearance.

Parents should particularly be alarmed, since there are cases where dogs attack little children who were just visiting a relative or passing by the houses of some neighbors. The mauling on these kids leaves permanent injury since dogs’ common target includes children’s faces and scalp. Others were affected psychologically and would bear the trauma of the event throughout their whole lives. Some were even bullied due to their physical deformities caused by bite scars. 

Parents who face the predicament of paying for the treatments and hospital bills of a child who suffered from a dog bite should ask the help of a good Los Angeles accident attorney. This person would prosecute the liable party and ask for damages awards in the form of money. The collected amount could then be afterwards used to pay for the surgery of the injured child so that the scars would be less prominent and he or she would be able to continue living a normal life.