Malek & Malek aggressively represents people who have been bitten by a dog. Anecdotally a great deal of the most seriously injured happen to be children. These dog bites can leave not only physical scars but mental scars that last long after the injury has healed.
A common refrain we will hear from dog owners is that a child antagonized the dog causing the dog bite. Under Ohio law children are essentially not responsible for their negligent acts. So bottomline is that if you have a dog, and this dog is around children a dog bite can occur.
Who pays? The home owner will pay. If you rent an apartment, the landlord will pay. What will happen to the dog? It can be put down.
Are some dogs more prone to bite than others? There are certainly some dog breeds that have a greater reputation for violence. However even “friendly” dog breeds are capable of committing a dog bite. As a kid growing up our family had three golden retrievers: Major, Raider and our last golden, Bailey. Bailey was super friendly, you could take his food bowl and he would not growl. However if he smelled a bone in someone’s garbage he would become a demon dog. Could he have bit me at these times, absolutely.
With 4.7 million dog bites occurring each year. If you have a dog, please take care around children. You might also look into supplemental dog insurance.