31 people were killed in the United States in 2016 due to a dog attack. What is amazing about that statistic is that of those fatal dog attacks, 22 of them occurred with a pit bull. That means 71 percent of the fatal dog bites in the country were done by pit bulls, even though this breed only makes up 6 percent of the population.
You can look at fatal dog attacks from 2005 to 2016 and the number stays relatively consistent. During that period of time, 392 people lost their lives due to dog bites. Of those deaths, 65 percent of them were attributed to pit bull attacks. Pit bulls aren’t always bad dogs — training plays a huge role in their development and how they are socialized is critical too.
But there is a basic fact here that leads to pit bulls being involved in so many of these fatal dog attacks: they are powerful dogs with incredibly strong jaws and a forceful bite. These things lead to their attacks causing brutal damage to their victims and, thus, it leads to a lot of fatal circumstances.
Dog attacks, no matter the breed, are always tragic, sad events. Someone will suffer tremendous pain because of a dog’s inability to control itself, or an owner’s inability to properly train or secure their dog. For the victim, legal help is necessary to ensure that their legal recourse is on track.
Source: DogBites.org, “2016 U.S. Dog Bite Fatalities,” Accessed Jan. 3, 2018