Last updated 13 hours ago
"Dog bites man does not get a lot of attention in the news, but it costs insurance companies hundreds of millions in claims every year.
State Farm Insurance, one of the nation's largest home insurers, paid more than $109 million on about 3,800 dog bite claims nationwide last year, spokesman Eddie Martinez said Wednesday. In 2010, there were about 3,500 claims and $90 million in payouts.
The Insurance Information Institute estimated that nearly $479 million in dog bite claims were paid by all insurance companies in 2011, spokeswoman Loretta Worters said. In 2010, it was $413 million.
It's no surprise that California - home to more dogs and people than any other state - led the way in 2011.
Martinez says 527 claims were filed in California and victims received $20.3 million, a jump of 31 percent over 2010.
State Farm is still working to determine reasons for the spike, Martinez said.
About 4.7 million people are bitten by dogs each year and more than half of the victims are children, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. About 800,000 people seek medical attention for the bites. Less than half of those people require treatment and about 16 die, the agency said.
After children ages 5 to 9 years old, the agency said that seniors represent the largest group at risk, followed by letter carriers.
Nationally, about 5,600 U.S. Postal Service letter carriers were attacked by dogs each of the last two years, said Los Angeles spokesman Richard Maher.
In California, a carrier was attacked in March and died of complications four days later after she suffered a stroke likely caused by trauma, Maher said.
Los Angeles carriers recorded the most bites with 83; San Diego was second with 68; followed by Houston at 47; and Cleveland at 44.
Medical expenses from dog attacks cost the Postal Service just over $1 million last year, officials said.
The third full week each May is National Dog Bite Prevention Week and State Farm, the U.S. Postal Service, the American Veterinary Medical Association and CDCP release dog bite statistics and launch campaigns to promote dog safety.
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.
The average cost per claim nationally in 2011 was $28,799, Martinez said.
California had a per-claim average of $38,500 but New York came in first because the company paid an average of $45,900 per claim there. Michigan was second with an average $38,700 per claim.
In 2010, California led the way with 369 claims and total payouts of $11.3 million. But the average cost per claim in the state was $30,000, placing it second behind Florida, where the average cost per dog bite claim was $38,400. Florida had 146 claims for a total of $5.6 million.
There are ways to help a child avoid dog bites, the ASPCA says.
A youngster should never stare into a dog's eyes, tease a dog, approach a chained dog, touch an off-leash dog, run or scream if approached by a loose dog, play with a dog while it is eating or touch a dog while it is sleeping. If a loose dog comes close, children should stand very still and be very quiet. Always ask a dog's owner for permission to pet it and let the dog sniff your closed hand before you start touching it."
Source: Yahoo News for Associated Press.
Last updated 1 day 13 hours ago
If you’ve been injured in an accident, your damages can be measured by more than just medical bills. Depending on the nature of your injury, you may be entitled to lost wages if you missed work as the result of an accident in which you were the victim. This video from LawInfo.com explains how to recover lost wages after an injury and what goes into determining the amount that you are entitled to.
Missing work after as the result of an injury can be overwhelming; fortunately, the experienced personal injury lawyers here at Jay Trucks & Associates are experienced at recovering lost wages for individuals like you. If you want to ensure that you get the compensation you deserve for the pain and suffering you’ve experienced, contact the personal injury lawyers here at Jay Trucks & Associates by calling us at (888) 481-2579.
Last updated 3 days ago
"Are American lives cheaper than those of the Chinese? It's a question raised by Ron Unz, publisher of The American Conservative, who has produced a compelling comparison between the way the Chinese dealt with one of their drug scandals - melamine in baby formula - and how the US handled the Vioxx aspirin-substitute disaster.
The Chinese scandal surfaced in 2008, shortly before the Beijing Olympics. Crooked dairymen diluted their milk products, then added a plastic chemical compound called melamine to raise the apparent protein content back to normal levels. Nearly 300,000 babies across China suffered urinary problems, with many hundreds requiring lengthy hospitalization for kidney stones. Six died.
Long prison sentences were handed down and a couple of the guiltiest culprits were tried and executed for their role. Throughout these events, American media coverage was extensive, with appropriate sneering about the Chinese leadership's indifference to human life.
Four years earlier, in September 2004, Merck, one of America's largest pharmaceutical companies, issued a sudden recall of Vioxx, its anti-pain medication widely used to treat arthritis-related ailments.
The recall came just days after Merck discovered that a top medical journal was about to publish a study by an FDA (Food and Drug Administration) investigator indicating that the drug in question greatly increased the risk of fatal heart attacks and strokes and had probably been responsible for at least 55,000 American deaths during the five years it had been on the market.
It soon turned out Merck had known of potential lethal side effects even before launching Vioxx in 1999, but had brushed all such disturbing tests under the rug."
To read the full article click here.
Last updated 7 days ago
If you’ve been injured in an accident, you may be eligible to receive damages for the pain and suffering you experienced as the result of your physical and emotional injuries. Contacting a personal injury attorney is the first step toward determining how much compensation you may be eligible to receive.
To provide an idea of how pain and suffering damages are classified and awarded, here is an overview of the factors that insurance companies and juries take into account when assigning a value to your personal injury lawsuit:
- Physical Pain and Discomfort – One of the primary factors used to determine the value of your personal injury damages is the physical pain and discomfort that you experienced at the time of the accident. This can also include injuries where you continue to experience pain after the fact.
- Emotional Trauma – Although emotional trauma is much harder to prove than physical pain and discomfort, it is still a large part of determining the amount of special damages you will be awarded as the result of your injury. The symptoms of emotional trauma include paranoia, insomnia, fatigue, and anxiety, and can last from a few days to a few years, depending on the severity of the accident.
- Loss of Quality of Life – Depending on the severity of your physical or emotional trauma, you may be eligible to receive compensation if your quality of life has been affected by your injury. Some examples include not being able to work as the result of a physical or emotional disability as well as the psychological injury of living with disfiguring scars. If your life has been forever changed because of an injury you received, contact a personal injury lawyer today to get the compensation you deserve.
If you have experienced pain and suffering as the result of an injury due to negligence, contact Jay Trucks & Associates today. Our personal injury attorneys will give you the individual attention you need and fight for the results that you deserve. To schedule your free initial consultation, contact us online or give us a call at (888) 481-2579.
Last updated 1 month ago
"Over the weekend a few motorcycle enthusiasts I know were so eager to take advantage of Michigan’s new “helmet choice” law that they forgot to do one little thing: comply with it.
Senate Bill 291, now Public Act 98 of 2012, lets motorcyclists choose whether to wear a helmet if they are at least 21 years old, carry additional insurance and have passed a motorcycle safety course or have had their motorcycle endorsement for at least two years. Motorcycle passengers who want to exercise this option also must be 21 or older and carry an additional $20,000 in insurance. It went into effect immediately Friday."
To read the full article click here.
