High Probability of Dog Attacks in San Diego

Dog bite injury cases are common in San Diego. Our experienced San Diego dog bite injury lawyer understands that due to the nature of their occupation, postal employees often fall victim to dog attacks. An article in >NBC San Diego reports that according to a list released by the United States Postal Service (USPS), San Diego ranks as the No. 2 city in the nation for dog attacks to postal employees.

According to a recent survey conducted by the USPS, 68 postal workers were attacked in San Diego last year out of approximately 5,600 postal employees nationwide. The city that outranked San Diego for the No. 1 spot for dog bite injury cases involving postal employees was Los Angeles. The USPS released these rankings to raise awareness for National Dog Bite Prevention Week.

Raising awareness for dog bite prevention is extremely important because as any experienced dog bite lawyer knows, dog bite cases can unfortunately lead to wrongful death cases. There have been tragic incidents where a dog attack ultimately led to the death of the victim. In such situations, surviving family members of the victim have the right to file a wrongful death claim against the owner of the dog that attacked the victim.

A common defense that the surviving members should anticipate is that the dog owner should not be held legally responsible for the victim’s death because dogs are domesticated animals, and the rule is that owners of domesticated animals cannot be held liable for injuries caused by such animals. However, this argument may fail if the exception to the rule applies. If the domesticated animal has attacked an individual on prior occasions and the owner has knowledge of these prior attacks, then he or she will be held liable for any injuries caused.

To avoid the possibility of falling victim to a dog attack, the USPS has released a few helpful tips to ensure safety when around potentially aggressive animals: (1) Individuals who are afraid of dogs should not run away from them. The dog will instinctually chase you. (2) Avoid eye contact with a dog that appears to be threatening. (3) If you are knocked down by a dog, curl into a ball and protect your face with your hands. These are just a few guiding suggestions in avoiding dog attacks—obviously every situation is different and it is often difficult to prevent these attacks when they occur suddenly, without notice.

Given the high probability of the occurrence of dog attacks in the San Diego area as illustrated by the survey conducted by the USPS, many local residents may eventually be affected by these issues. If you find yourself in this situation it is important to have a San Diego County personal injury lawyer to help. Our experienced personal injury lawyers at Walton Law Firm can help protect the legal rights of those who have suffered injuries in any kind of accident.

See Related Blog Posts:

Owners of Pit Bulls on Trial For the Fatal Attack of an Elderly Woman

San Diego Dog Attack Leads to Death of Area Woman