According to CBS News, Houston has the highest number of dog attacks on United States Postal Service (USPS) mail carriers.
State Farm Insurance and the Insurance Information Institute (III) recently released research on the cost of dog bite claims in the United States. CBS says that the research shows that the costs of dog bite claims have increased by half over the decade.
Spokeswoman for the III, Loretta Worters, said in an interview that the reason these costs have gone up is due to “increased medical costs as well as the size of settlements, judgments and jury awards given to plaintiffs, which are still on the upswing,” reported CBS.
Other statistics from this research on dog attacks included:
- The cost of dog bite claims has increased by 45 percent in the last decade
- In 2013, 4.5 million people were attacked by dogs in the United States
- Of the 4.5 million people attacked by dogs, two million involved children
- 5,581 USPS mail carriers were attacked and bitten by dogs
- Dog attacks cost insurance carriers $483 million in the U.S.
- California had the most dog bite claims with 449 reports, which resulted in $14.7 million in payouts
- According to State Farm, Texas had the fourth most claims for dog bites with 207, costing four million dollars in payouts
In interviews conducted by CBS, experts said that the best way to reduce the number of dog attacks is to provide education on responsible ownership of a dog. Lastly, it is incorrect to assume that only certain breeds will attack, because all dogs can attack.
A Dog Attacked Me. What Can I Do?
If you would like to learn more about dog attacks and what you should do if you have been attacked, click here for more information.
The Law Offices of Aaron Allison – Austin Personal Injury Attorney
Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/find-out-which-state-has-most-dog-bite-claims/
