People who keep dogs as pets, working animals or service animals often derive medical benefits from animal ownership. Service animals can identify medical emergencies or help people regain functions lost due to medical challenges. Pets can help people manage their stress levels and cope with loneliness. Dogs, in particular, can also give people an incentive to exercise regularly.
For all the benefits that dogs offer individuals, they are a hazard on a societal level. Canines can be unpredictable and sometimes attack people. Many dog bites are minor incidents, but they can be very serious matters in some cases. Instead of a minor wound, some people face significant, costly medical challenges when a dog becomes aggressive.
What are some of the more concerning potential medical consequences of a dog bite attack?
Significant traumatic injuries
The bite itself can do significant damage to tissue. Depending on the size and health of the human attacked by the dog, the bite could cause disfiguring facial scars, dangerous blood loss and possibly even broken bones. People may require hospitalization, surgery and physical therapy when recovering from more extreme injuries inflicted by aggressive dogs.
Problematic infections
One of the biggest mistakes people make after a dog bite incident is to just bandage the wound. Unfortunately, topical antibiotic ointment often does not adequately disinfect a dog bite injury. The tapered teeth of a dog can penetrate deep into the flesh of the human victim and can leave dangerous bacteria behind. In some cases, people develop infections that may lead to hospitalization after a dog bites them.
Psychological trauma
Dog bite attacks have a strong association with mental health consequences. Particularly in cases where the victim is a child, the party attacked by a dog could develop a variety of mental health issues as a result of the incident. Some dog bite victims develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Others develop a fear of dogs or outdoor spaces. It can be a very long process to treat the mental health consequences of a dog bite incident effectively.
Holding an animal’s owner accountable for a dog bite incident may involve filing an insurance claim or possibly even a premises liability lawsuit. People attacked by dogs should not have to absorb the expenses generated because another person’s animal behaved in an unsafe manner.