Some revealing numbers at the start of National Dog Bite Week; 4.5 million people are bitten by a dog each year in the U.S.
“2022 alone we paid our more than $211 million dollars” in claims nationwide says Amy Harris with State Farm Insurance.
In fact, as far back as late 2020 The Northwest Insurance Council put the cost of Dog Bite claims in Washington at more than $16 million dollars.
By 2022 claims were down, but the cost went way up “The amount we paid on those went up 30%, they just tended to be a little big more severe” And these aren’t just dog bites Harris tells Northwest Newsradio “This can range anywhere from a severe bite or attack; or it could be a happy dog that accidently knocking an owner down the stairs, right? And they’re injured that way.”
California ranks #1 in the nation for dog-related injury insurance claims; Washington checks-in at 14th.
“There’s certain things you can do to prevent this” the pandemic got the blame for an increase in dog bites among children and Harris says there could be a lingering effect playing out now “When everybody was forced to work at home and everybody was forced to work at home and the dog was used to having somebody at home and now people are starting to go back in the office and the dog is left alone a little bit more, something like that could contribute” to bad or hyperactive behavior.
It’s also worth noting: a dog owner is responsible for just about any Dog Bite.
