Okay this area of personal injury law might not be as glamorous as pursuing giant corporations for wrongdoing, but it can be a profitable niche practice of law nonetheless.
There are currently 74.8 million dogs in America according to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association (APPMA). And, according to the Centers for Disease Control And Prevention (CDC), 2 percent of the United States population is bitten each year by dogs, or more than 4.7 million people, and almost 800,000 of these bits require medical attention. 1,008 people a day are sent to the emergency room by dog bites every year. And, here is the interesting part. 16,475 dog bites in 2001 were work related. For example, approximately 2,851 letter carriers are bitten by dogs each year. Dog bites are the 5th most frequent cause for children's' visits to the emergency room. Americans have a one in fifty chance of being bitten by a dog each year. And, in 2007 33 people died from dog maulings in the USA. By all indications dog bite incidents are going up in number.
Facing facts, there are just some dangerous dogs out there. Did you know that Presa Canarios, Pit Bulls, Rottweilers and their mixes are responsible for 74% of all dog attacks, including 68% of attacks upon children, 82% of the attacks on adults, 65% of dog mauling deaths, and 68% of maimings.
Over 50% of all dog bites occur on the dog owner's property, meaning that there is usually insurance to cover these bites.
Although estimating the actual costs of dog bites has varied, at one point the American Medical Association indicated it might be as high as $2 billion as year.
One way that I look at the potential market is that there are more dog bites than consumer bankruptcies currently being filed, the payouts are probably larger than bankruptcy fees, and there are many fewer attorneys marketing for dog bite cases exclusively.
There are attorney examples now for the practice area. For example, Kenneth Phillips, Edgar Snyder, Jeffrey Harlan Penneys, John Bisnar, Joel R. Zand, Robert B. Reeves, Robert A. Kraft, and Edmond El Dabe are all lawyers that have websites dealing with this area.
USDogBiteLawyers.Com is a site that directs you to attorneys in your state that handle dog bite cases.
FamilyDoctor.Org has a section on dog bites.
The Humane Society has a section about staying dog bite free.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention discusses dog bite prevention.
MedicineNet.Com discusses dog bite treatments.
Science Daily discusses the recipe for dog bite injuries.
There are many more Internet resources you can view and read, and you should do this.
This is undoubtedly an area of law in which many attorneys will want to explore. If for no other reason, this niche could prove easy to directly market. Letter carriers, for example, have unions and organizations, which could be solicited. Also, an attorney could target the breeds that result in the most injuries.
Below are some videos of attorneys soliciting cases.
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