Many New Jersey residents do some of their shopping online these days. It’s a popular way for people to buy almost anything and have it directly shipped to their house. With the rise of online sales comes additional package deliveries for postal workers. These postal workers are now seeing an increase in dog bite injuries.
Postal workers and dog bites seem to go together. Postal workers who go from door to door each day see lots of animals while delivering the mail. With more people getting packages delivered to their door due to internet shopping, postal workers are seeing an increase in dog bites. There were 6,755 dog bite injuries to postal workers last year. That number is the highest in three decades and is attributed to higher numbers of people internet shopping and having deliveries 7 days-a-week. Postal workers now have technology to alert other letter carriers that they see a loose dog and they also request that customers indicate if there are dogs at their address when scheduling a package pickup.
An animal attack is an extremely frightening situation. Animals can be unpredictable, and one can never know if they are going to bite or not. Every year, over 4.5 million Americans are bit by a dog. These dog bite injuries can be serious and can cause disfigurement and other medical conditions. An owner’s negligence in taking care of their dog and making sure it is properly contained is how these tragic events occur. Those who are injured by an animal may want to speak with a legal professional who is skilled in personal injury. New Jersey has laws that protect those who are harmed by animals and compensation may be available for medical expenses, pain and suffering, and other damages.
Dog injuries can be very serious both for physical complications and the mental anguish that can impact a person for years to come. A legal professional can help their client get their life back and hold the negligent animal owner responsible for their mistake.
Source: nj.com, “Dog attacks on postal workers surge with package delivery spike“, Jeff Goldman, April 9, 2017