Dog Bite Claims Cost Insurers $497m In 2011, Insurance Group Says

Dog Bites Rise During Holiday Season

Despite the large number of attacks on letter carriers, the Postal Service decided to focus on children for their campaign because a child is 900 times more likely to be attacked than a letter carrier, Maher said. Heredity, training, socialization, health, and the behavior of humans around it can all contribute to a dog's tendency to bite, Martinez said. The ASPCA predicts half of all children in the United States will be bitten by a dog before 12. The majority of bites will be from the family dog or the dog of a neighbor or friend. People across the country own about 78.2 million dogs, according to the American Pet Products Association. State Farm's figures listed the top 10 states by number of claims, claims paid and claim average. California was tops in the first two categories, then came Illinois, 309 claims, $10 million; Texas, 219 claims, $5.1 million; and Ohio, 215, $5.4 million. At the bottom of the claims per state list were Maine, New Mexico, Montana, Hawaii and South Dakota, Martinez said.
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Dog bites drive up insurance payouts; premiums could be next

West went to Shawnee Mission Medical Center to get the first round of rabies shots. Then she got the bill. Her out-of-pocket expense was $2,320. The total bill came to $31,312 which included a $30,168 continue charge for pharmacy services. "I was in shock," West said. "While our high charges can seem outrageous, hospitals do not get paid what we charge. We typically negotiate with insurance companies to pay a percentage of our charges. While patient bills often list those higher charges, insurance companies and patients pay the much lower negotiated rate. For patients who are uninsured, we offer self-pay rates similar to those negotiated with insurance companies and we also have a charity care program, Shawnee Mission Medical Center wrote in an e-mail statement to Call for Action. If you do see an injured dog, experts recommend you contact animal control of local police for help.
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Most dog bites in core city areas

Fourteen people have died of rabies in Pune city in this period, three of them were local residents. The civic body's Dr Kotnis Arogya Kendra in Gadikhana popularly known as Gadikhana Hospital recorded the highest - 2,837- cases. "This is the oldest of the PMC's hospitals which has been providing free anti-rabies vaccination for many years. People who have suffered dog bites come to Gadikhana hospital primarily from Mandai area, Shukrawar Peth and Bajirao Road. But since many know that it is the oldest of the civic hospitals providing anti-rabies treatment, more people come from across the city. They do not know that the anti-rabies vaccines are now available at 24 civic maternity homes and hospitals," said Anjali Sabne, deputy medical officer of health . Late Rajiv Gandhi Hospital in Yerawada came second in registering dog-bite cases. People from Yerawada, Koregaon Park, Laxminagar, Ganeshnagar and Subhashnagar come for treatment here for dog bites.
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Dog bite victim shocked by medical bill

According to the U.S. Postal Service, December is a peak time for dog bites and dog-related injuries, with children out of school for winter break and mail carriers delivering a higher volume of mail and holiday packages. Nearly 2,700 dog bites occurred between July 1, 2012 and June 30 of this year. The 92113 zip code -- which encompasses areas like downtown, Barrio Logan and Logan Heights -- had the most dog bites in San Diego with 113 reported incidents. In the 2012 calendar year, San Diego County letter carriers experienced 75 dog bites/attacks. So far this year, dog bites/attacks on letter carriers are at 89. Letter carriers in San Diego will be wearing Dog Bite Awareness t-shirts on weekends while delivering mail as a reminder to dog owners of the importance of responsible pet ownership.
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was $29,396 in 2011, up 53.4% from $19,162 in 2004. Medical costs and the sizes of settlements, judgments and jury awards given to plaintiffs have all outpaced inflation, the organization said. High payouts on dog bites are happening because more people own dogs, they live closer to one another, and parents are more likely to get advanced medical care for their children after a bite, said Bob Skow, CEO of the Independent Insurance Agents of Iowa. "Forty years ago, a kid got bit, Mom and Dad didn't take him to a plastic surgeon," he said. "Nowadays they do." Most often, kids are the bite victims. Skow said people should own dogs appropriate for where they live and train them properly, and parents should teach children how to avoid provoking dogs. There are 78.2 million dogs in the U.S., according to the American Pet Products Association, one dog for every four people. "Statistically, the numbers have gone up at the same time that we've become more of an urban society," Skow said.
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