On May 13, the U.S. Postal Service released its ratings of the cities in the United States where postal workers have been most frequently attacked by dogs. Dog attacks against postal workers and others happen everywhere in the United States, especially large cities such as Atlanta. The rankings show that frequent attacks occur in large West Coast, East Coast and Midwest cities in particular. Homeowners can be held responsible for any accidents, including dog attacks, which happen on their properties and damage others, including postal workers. Inadequate security measures and protections against animals, especially vicious ones, can result in deaths or major injuries to postal workers and others.
Homeowners hold a major responsibility in keeping postal workers, neighbors, young children and others safe from their animals. They can prevent harm to other people by getting their dogs obedience training, keeping dogs in secured areas or indoors when others are around, socializing their dogs so they are used to other animals and people, and keeping their animals on leashes in unsecured areas outside of the house. According to the USPS, people can avoid dog attacks by staying away from and keeping their children away from stray dogs and behaving cautiously around aggressive dogs, not making eye contact with them and not running from them.
Dog attacks are a nationwide problem with over 4.7 million dog attacks a year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dog attacks more commonly occur against children.
Pet owners may sometimes try to deny or minimize responsibility for their dogs’ actions, but dog bite victims often have to face medical costs and emotional trauma after getting attacked. Victims can bring premises liability cases against homeowners if proof exists that the dog owners failed to put up or make repairs to their fences or supervise their dogs. Personal injury lawyer may analyze records of expenses sustained as a result of injuries and other evidence to help victims build a strong case.
Source: USPS.com, “Postal Service Releases Top Dog Attack City Rankings“, May 15, 2013