The vast majority of dog owners feel that their family dogs are members of their families. Often, a dog owner will insist that his or her dog that plays lovingly with small children in the family would never attack someone. Unfortunately, a Wisconsin resident can face a serious personal injury from a dog despite its owner’s belief that it would never harm anyone.
Ultimately, the actions of a pet are the responsibility of its owner — who can be held liable for the financial consequences of an attack. Statistics supplied by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that 4.5 million people in the United States suffer from dog bites each year. Of these, approximately half are children.
Post office workers face a significant risk of being bitten. In fact, the U.S. Postal Service claims that over 5,700 employee were attacked by dogs last year alone. In a recent report, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was listed among the top 30 cities in the number of dog attacks on employees of the post office. While there are steps that a dog owner can take to protect the safety of postal workers and other people who may be near his or her pet, many people fail to take these steps, resulting in serious injuries to others.
When postal workers are attacked, some of the costs related to the workers’ injuries may be covered by workers’ compensation benefits. However, the other millions of people who are attacked in Wisconsin and across the country may not qualify for these benefits. Because a pet owner is liable for his or her pet’s actions, a victim can take legal action to ensure that the owner is held liable for the financial consequences of the injuries suffered as a result of a dog attack. Many people who have filed personal injury claims have received awards of damages to help cover expenses related to their injuries.
Source: about.usps.com, “U.S. cities ranked for dog bites“, May 14, 2015