1. The “dogs get one free bite” is more about criminal penalties against the owner and / or ordering a vicious dog destroyed or removed from the jurisdiction than civil liability to the victim.

Most jurisdictions require at least two incidents before a dog can be declared vicious.

2. Not all dog bites are unprovoked.

Shouldn’t a dog be allowed to defend itself?

Why should the owner of the dog be liable for a provoked bite?

I’ve read about a case where a pit-bull was ordered put down for a bite. The bite was the result of a fight between two dogs, the pit-bull and a German Shepherd. The owner of the German Shepherd was bit trying to break up the fight and then filed a complaint against the owner of the pit-bull.

It came out later that the owner of the German Shepherd was bit by her own dog and that it was the German Shepherd that attacked the pit-bull, not the other way around. Despite this information, it was the pit-bull that was declared vicious and ordered to be destroyed.

However does the dog owner think this is proper. Perhaps he can be the first to donate a pound of flesh.

As for stating the the lineman was uninvited: The electric company is responsible for the wires as they lead up to the house and the meter, and the homeowner owns the wires at the house and the junction box the meter is attached to. It seems as if he has already granted leave for the lineman to service the lines merely by contracting for electricity.

I also thought it was odd that he made a point of mentioning the lineman’s household income in the article as if it was relevant.

Of the 885,000 Americans who receive medical treatment for dog bites every year (see note 1 below), only 16,000 receive compensation from liability insurance companies (see note 2). Yes, just two percent.

Dog bite victims sustain at least $1 billion in losses per year (see note 3), but liability insurance companies pay only $570 million in total damages and defense costs (see note 4). Quite a bargain for insurance companies.

I am familiar with these numbers because I am an attorney who handles nothing but dog bite cases throughout the USA. Here are the sources of my information:

1. Gilchrist, J.; Sacks, J.J.; White, D.; Kresnow, M.J. “Dog Bites: Still a Problem?” Injury Prevention, October 2008, Vol. 14, Issue 5, 296-301.

2. Insurance Information Institute. “Dog Bite Liability.” May 2016. Retrieved 7/20/2016 from http://www.iii.org/issue-update/dog-bite-liability

3. Voelker, R. “Dog Bites Recognized as Public Health Problem.” J. American Medical Association 1997; 277(4); 278-280. doi: 10.1001/jama.1997.03540280016009

4. Insurance Information Institute. “Dog Bite Liability.” Ibid.