Getting Excellent Representation in Dog Bite Cases
Mission Viejo, California Dog Bite Case: The Big Problem of Dog Bites and Dog Attacks in Mission Viejo, California
by: Jon Mitchell Jackson/ Jackson & Wilson
www.MissionViejoDogBiteLawyer.com
2009 Orange County Trial Lawyer of the Year
Each year dozens of people who live in Mission Viejo, California, become dog bite victims. Across the United States, almost 5,000,000 people are bitten or attacked by dogs and 334,000 dog bite and dog attack victims require emergency medical treatment.
Most Mission Viejo dog bite and dog attack victims are not aware of the fact that on a daily basis, more than 1,000 dog bite and dog attack victims are treated in hospital emergency rooms such as Mission Viejo Medical Center and Saddleback Hospital. About 15-20 of these dog bite attacks result in death.
Dog bites and dog attacks result in approximately 44,000 facial injuries each year with the face and hands being the most injured body parts. This represents more than 1,000 emergency room visits each day.
Every 40 seconds, someone in the United States seeks medical attention for a dog bite. Most of the Mission Viejo dog bite and dog attack victims are children and nationally, children are injured more than anyone else (about 60 percent of all dog bite or dog attack victims). Male patients slightly outnumber females.
Mission Viejo’s dog bite and dog attack figures add to the approximate 800,000 dog bites per year in the United States that require medical treatment. With the victims who are children, most of them are bitten on the face. And also as in Mission Viejo, about 70 percent of dog bites occur on the owner’s property or in a victim’s neighborhood.
Strict liability law provides that the Mission Viejo dog bite owner is liable for the damages suffered by any Mission Viejo resident who is bitten by the dog while in a public place or lawfully in a private place located in Mission Viejo. This includes the dog owner’s property located in Mission Viejo, regardless of the prior viciousness of the dog or the owner’s knowledge of that viciousness. Contrary to what many people believe, there is no one bite rule in Mission Viejo or California in general.
In Mission Viejo, a person who keeps or has control of an animal (including a dog) may be held liable under the dangerous animal rule and for negligence for all sustained injuries and damages to other Mission Viejo residents. This may apply even if the dog is partly under the care of others.
It is important to note that more than half of all dog bite and dog attack victims in Mission Viejo are children who are usually attacked in the face. For every fatal dog bite in the United States, there are about 230,000 bites that are not treated by a physician. Most Mission Viejo dog bite victims fail to seek medical attention at either Mission Hospital or Saddleback Hospital.
About 40 percent of all Mission Viejo residents own at least one dog and this figure also applies to other cities across America. This means that there are more than 55 million dogs in the United States. And in Mission Viejo, a majority of dog bite attacks happen at home or at a neighbors house in the presence of family and friends.
Jon Mitchell Jackson is a Mission Viejo Dog Bite lawyer and in 2009 was named an Orange County Trial Lawyer of the Year by the Orange County Trial Lawyers Association. Mitch is the founding partner and Senior Litigation Partner of Jackson and Wilson, Inc., a top AV rated firm by Martindale-Hubbell. The firm is also listed in the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers, an exclusive listing reserved for the best law firms in the United States. This recent award follows several earlier recognitions this year naming Mitch as a Southern California Super Lawyer and, a rating of 10.0 or Superb by the national AVVO lawyer rating system. Mitch also serves as a Judge Pro Tem with the Orange County Superior Court and in his spare time, enjoys Rotary International. Mitch invites potential clients, family, friends, and fellow Rotarians to visit his web site and say hello. www.MissionViejoDogBiteLawyer.com
Puppy Mills ? Learn The Shocking Truth About Pet Stores
Pet stores are a very popular place to shop for young puppies and other animals of your choice. There is practically a pet store in almost every city. And it is hard to resist that cute and desperate looking puppy caged up waiting to be taken home. But before you make this decision you really should know a little bit of “insider” information about these pet stores and the origins of the puppies they sell.
Have you ever heard of puppy mills?
Do you know where most of these puppies come from that you see being sold in pet stores? There are certain breeding centers that cater to high-volume puppy production which sells them to pet stores, which then is sold to you. They are called “puppy mills” and are probably the most disgusting form of dog breeding practices that I have seen.
Disclaimer: Let me be clear on one thing: Not every pet store gets their puppies from puppy mills, but enough research has been done to find that a large majority of stores in the United States do in fact use puppy mills as their resource for pets to sell to the public.
What exactly are puppy mills?
To put it in simple terms, a puppy mill is a farm that is found most often in the Midwestern part of the United States. These farms breed animals for profits, mostly dogs. That may not sound that harsh but imagine these puppies being bred in high volumes and mistreated in the same way that cattle or chickens are.
If that doesn’t give you a disturbing vision, then imagine cages stacked upon cages with these small adorable puppies, all suffering and ignored. Now picture rows and rows of these dog filled cages, all with minimal human contact and the only care they are getting is enough food and water to survive. You can easily find pictures by doing research online which would absolutely break your heart.
What is so bad about buying a puppy that originated from a puppy mill?
There is absolutely nothing wrong with taking home one of these puppies, and it is definitely a positive choice to make. On the other hand, many of these dogs have what is called “early stress syndrome” and may grow up to be nervous and frightened dogs which are very hard to instill confidence with training. Of course there are exceptions to the rule with these puppies, however, before you spend your hard-earned cash be sure to know all there is to know about where your puppy came from when considering purchasing from a pet store.