Most dogs don’t have much to do during the course of a day when all or most of the residents of a home are away. They sleep, and they get bored. Their human family is their pack. When a delivery person arrives at their home, the dog could perceive that individual as a possible threat to it and its pack. Based on the fact that it chases the letter carrier away from the front door everyday, the dog thinks that it’s doing a great job protecting the pack. That’s how an unprovoked attack might occur on a person making a delivery.
Delivery and Dog Attack Numbers
Delivery people and service people who arrive at your doorstep encounter a common problem. From time to time, they all get confronted by dogs. According to the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), 5,714 of its employees were attacked by dogs while on the job in 2018. Many online purchases are delivered by USPS. With about 66,000 delivery personnel, UPS employees suffered about 900 dog attacks. On an average day, FedEx delivers about 1.3 million packages. It says that it doesn’t keep a count on dog attacks. The week before Christmas, all of the delivery figures increase drastically.
Dog Bite Injuries Can Be Serious
On the USPS listing of the most dangerous cities for dogs in 2018, Louisville ranked ninth in the country. That was a remarkable improvement from fifth the year before. Here are some common dog bite injuries:
- Permanent damage to muscles and nerves.
- Traumatic and medically necessary amputations.
- Deep puncture wounds with scarring and disfigurement.
- Deep lacerations.
- Severe bacterial infections.
Kentucky is a Strict Liability State
When a person making a delivery is required to enter the boundaries of real estate that is owned or occupied by somebody else, an implied invitation has been made by that owner or occupier for the person making the delivery to cross those boundaries. If the person making the delivery is lawfully on the premises in the course and scope of their employment, and he or she is attacked by a dog, Kentucky Revised Statutes section 258.235(4) applies. It states that “Any owner whose dog is found to have caused damage to a person, livestock or other property shall be responsible for that damage.” There’s no “one free bite” rule in Kentucky. Its language makes section 258.235(4) a strict liability statute, and there are very few exceptions to it. It doesn’t matter whether the dog never showed any aggressive tendencies in the past. If it bites somebody who isn’t a trespasser, it’s highly likely that the dog’s owner will be held liable for damages. Even if the dog knocks down a person making a delivery and injures that person without biting him or her, strict liability applies under section 258.235(4).
Don’t Hurt Your Own Case
By coupling an implied invitation with Kentucky’s strict liability dog bite statute, a delivery person who has been injured by a dog can make a claim under the recipient’s homeowners or renters insurance. You don’t want to approach that insurance company on your own though. It will use defense tactics that you won’t even know that it’s using. It will start whittling away at the value of your claim from the onset and set you up to attack your credibility in the future. It might even deny your claim in its entirety. You’ll want an experienced, effective and aggressive Louisville dog bite lawyer making your claim and advocating on your behalf from the start.
If you were injured in a dog attack while making a lawful delivery at a residence or even a business in or around Louisville, notify police and animal control immediately. Seek medical attention at an emergency room right after that. Then, don’t hesitate to contact us at your earliest opportunity. We can arrange for a free confidential consultation and case evaluation, and you can tell us what happened along with how it happened. You’ll have questions too, and we’ll be prepared to answer them. After that, we’ll recommend how the case should be approached. We know how to make strict liability strict.
