With upwards of 63 million US households having a dog
, it probably isn’t surprising how much money is spent on things like food, medical bills and increasingly insurance among other costs. It’s believed that over $1 billion alone is spent on pet insurance alone but it’s generally focused on medical and health insurance to protect your pet, not liability insurance which protects you, the pet owner.
The average insurance claim for a dog bite is almost $45,000 and while existing liability insurance may cover the cost, insurers are increasingly excluding certain dogs from coverage or refusing to cover dogs completely as courts award higher payouts to victims.
I decided to do in depth research and ask is a dog bite lawsuit possible and how often do they occur? While dog ownership can be fun for the family it can also be costly in the instance where your pet injures someone through a bite attack or other event. More so if you don’t have coverage to protect you the pet owner.
While dog bites are very common, there isn’t a lot available in terms of comprehensive up to date statistics so numbers related to dog attacks often vary wildly depending on the source.
How common are dog bites and dog bite lawsuits?
Commonly available stats show that around 1/3 of homeowner liability insurance claims are due to dog bite incidents. The Insurance Information Institute (Triple I) and State Farm Insurance state $797 million as being the amount paid in 2019 alone by insurers to settle dog bite liability incidents. Triple I states that there were 17,802 dog bite insurance claims in the US nationally in 2019 which is an increase of 2.9% over 2018 figures.
During the same time period, Tripe I reports that the average cost per dog bite claim increased by 14.7% to $44,760. From 2003 – 2019 the average cost per claim has increased by 134% so dog bite lawsuits are increasing in both number and cost which is very important for all dog owners to understand.
The aftermath of dog bite attacks
Over time, the frequency of dog bites and associated lawsuits are increasing as is the amount of money being awarded to victims. At the same time, most dog bite incidents result in no criminal charges filed against the dog owner even in the case of a death as a result of the attack. So the courts appear to be dealing with dog bite attacks more often than not through compensating victims and not as a criminal act. In many cases, the dog in question is euthanized.
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) suggests that around 4.7 million dog bites occur each year with around 800,000 requiring medical care but these numbers are from 1994 the last time national stats were published.
DogBites.org reports that from 2005 – 2019, 521 people were killed due to dog attacks. Pit bulls were responsible for 66% of those deaths and they are also the breed responsible for most criminal charges that are filed. The website states that 59 people were killed from dog bites in 2019 alone.
Where do most dog bites occur?
There are two ways of answering this question:
Where does the dog attack take place
Most dog attacks take place inside the home or on the property where the dog lives. So the attack could be against a member of the family who owns the dog or who is visiting the dog owner’s family. The second most common location of attack is at the home of a friend or family member of the dog owner.
Having said that, research shows that increasingly dog attacks are taking place off private property in public. While Triple I stats show that “over half of dog bite injuries occur at home” I’ve also read stats that suggest as many as 75% of dog bites occur there. This does suggest that significant dog bite incidents occur away from home or possibly at someone else’s house or on public property, too.
In the instance where a dog bite occurs at your home, your existing home liability insurance may or may not cover the incident. If your dog bites someone off your property, you may also be covered but if there are extenuating circumstances – your dog was not on a leash or you were not actively monitoring your dog’s activity – you may personally be held liable and subject to charges.
Most dog bite incidents don’t result in charges but the ones that do seem to focus on charges of reckless conduct, homicide and manslaughter among other charges.
Where on the body are most people bitten by dogs
Research from various sources including insurance and law firms suggest that around three quarters of dog bites occur on extremities like hands, arms, legs and feet.
Let’s look at the reasons why:
Hands: People tend to approach a dog by trying to pat it with their hands and by leading with our hands, we obviously give them something to bite. We also tend to protect ourselves against being bitten or attacked by a dog with our hands and being an extremity hanging down at the side of our body, hands make an easy target especially if we don’t expect being bitten.
Arms: If you are attacked by a dog, it’s likely you will defend yourself with your hands and arms and if you are blocking your face or body with your arms, you will naturally get bitten on the arms.
Legs: When violent dogs attack with intent, they do so to kill not just to hurt. By going after the lower extremities like the legs, they are attempting to take you down to the ground where they can then go for the upper extremities like the face, neck and head. I was bitten twice on the back of my legs unexpectedly by dogs and in both cases they simply bit me at the highest point of my body that they could reach.
For children, being bitten on the face is unfortunately very common due to the fact that children aren’t very tall and are often either crawling or playing on the ground at the time.
Injuries due to a dog bite incident
Most dog bite attacks don’t cause an injury severe enough to require medical attention. Having said that, the worst cases can not only lead to hospitalization but long term injuries that require surgery and rehabilitation that may permanently change the victim’s life physically, mentally and financially.
DogBite.org reports dog bite attacks result in hospital bills ranging from $250,000 – $1,000,000 in specialized medical care and treatment for victims, clearly much higher than many liability insurance policies cover.
In rare cases, dog bites can also cause rabies or tetanus.
Dog bite attack aftermath for victims
People who are badly bitten by dogs often find themselves afraid of dogs in the future as a result, not surprisingly. It isn’t difficult to find forums and articles online regarding people who are bitten by a dog who are then additionally turned on by dog owners who side with their dog(s) rather than with the victim.
Having been bitten on the back of the leg twice by dogs as a kid – once when delivering newspapers and once by simply walking past the house of a dog that had gotten out of the yard – I know that it made me somewhat wary of dogs for many years. I wasn’t badly hurt but in both cases my mum took me to the doctor as the bites broke the skin and we wanted to make sure I wasn’t at risk.
In the case where I was delivering papers, she called the town and they visited the house in question as the dog who bit me was always barking very aggressively and loudly in the front window of their home when I delivered papers and was much larger than 12 year old me.
Several years ago my younger daughter was playing at a friend’s house and their small dog – one you could carry in one arm – nipped my daughter in the face just below one eye for on reason. Sometimes dogs just bite even when their owners tell you they won’t. How exactly would they know this?
Dog bite lawsuit prevalence
Dog bite lawsuits are increasing across the country in terms of both sheer number and the average claim cost for each incident. The Insurance Information Institute (Triple I) highlights a number of key stats regarding dog ownership and the relationship of dog ownership to homeowner’s insurance.
Here are some key takeaways from Triple I:
- The average national cost for a dog bite claim was $44,760 in 2019 and is trending upwards.
- Homeowner and renter insurance policies typically cover dog bite liability legal costs but tend to be capped at $100,000 – $300,000.
- Increasingly, insurance companies are restricting dog bite liability by either refusing to cover dogs or charging higher premiums for certain dogs deemed to be violent.
- Some insurers will increase premiums, cancel a dog owner’s coverage outright or exclude a dog from the coverage in the instance where they do bite someone.
- Over half of dog bite injuries occur in a person’s home where the victim is familiar with the dog. So significant dog bites occur to strangers which could increase the chance of a lawsuit since there is no relationship to be affected by suing someone you don’t know.
- California has more dog bite claims than any other US state although it is also the most populated state.
Source: III
State legislation regarding dog bite liability
Some states have enacted specific laws and regulations regarding the liability of dog ownership particularly as it pertains to dogs they classify as being dangerous or vicious. The state of Ohio requires dog owners to have a minimum of $100,000 of liability insurance when they own a dog breed deemed to be vicious. This is part of a bigger liability law in the state that came into effect in 2012 to deal with the fact that around $479 million was paid out the year before due to dog bite claims alone representing around 1/3 of all homeowner liability claims nationally.
Pennsylvania and Michigan on the other hand prohibit insurers from canceling or denying insurance coverage to owner’s of specific types of dogs. So if you own a dog it’s best to check your local and state laws regarding dog ownership and liability as it does differ.
Does pet health insurance cover liability?
It depends on the policy and where you live. As mentioned earlier, your home liability insurance coverage may already cover you. While pet health insurance is very different from liability insurance for your dog, some pet policies do offer the ability to include pet liability insurance for your dog.
Pet healthcare bills can certainly be very expensive but a pet health insurance only policy covers your pet for certain healthcare charges not in the instance if they bite someone and you are held responsible for it.
There are some insurers that offer liability only pet policies while others may offer pet liability insurance on top of a pet health insurance policy you may have with them along with other benefits such as protection should your pet damage rented goods or should your pet themselves get bitten by another animal ie. to provide emergency vet care for your pet.
Summary
Not only is a dog bite lawsuit possible, depending on where you live it may be more prevalent that you think and could lead you to facing not only monetary costs but criminal charges too. While monetary penalties are far more prevalent than criminal charges, your existing liability insurance coverage may or may not pay for dog bite attacks.
Separate dog liability insurance exists and you may also find pet policies that bundle pet health insurance with liability coverage for not only you but your dog as well.
To summarize, you can find pet insurance that includes third party liability coverage that includes protection should your dog:
- Injure a person
- Injure another pet
- Damage or break someone else’s property
- Require veterinary attention
- Incur legal fees due to their actions
- Incur damage costs due to their actions
Ensure that you carefully read each policy for inclusions and exclusions as well as specific policy details between different insurers including the maximum liability coverage you will receive.
