As a dog lover, you understand that dogs are usually excited, perpetually happy balls of energy. The last thing you would expect from a dog you know is friendly is to get bitten. However, there are other ways that dogs, friendly or not, can injure Pennsylvania residents. You might not consider getting knocked over as one of them, but this is one of the most common ways, besides sustaining a bite, that you could be hurt by a dog.
Consider this scenario: You are visiting a friend, and as you are walking up her driveway, her Labrador retriever runs out the front door and jumps up on you for a hug. Of course, the dog did not mean to injure you, but it knocked you off balance and you come down hard on the pavement. Other types of knockdown scenarios that may happen to you or a loved one may include the following:
- An unleashed dog is running loose at the park, and as you get in front of your dog to protect her from what could be an attack or an attempt to play, the excited dog bowls you over.
- A medium-sized dog easily knocks your young child over.
- Your parents’ little dog is always underfoot, and trips you one day while you are visiting.
- Your friend’s two excitable dogs are running through the house not paying attention to anything in their path, and you unfortunately happen to be in their path.
- Your spouse, a delivery man, knocks on a customer’s door, and the family’s German shepherd pushes him down the front steps.
In many knockdown cases, the dog who caused the injury was being curious or friendly, rather than aggressive. Regardless, you may suffer an injury which results in an inability to work and subsequent lost wages, medical expenses and other costs which were caused by a knock down.
Numerous ways to control an excitable or aggressive dog include leashing him, crating him, training him not to jump or telling someone at the door to wait until the owner has restrained the dog. Dog owners failing to take these precautions may constitute negligence in a dog injury.
