New Data Highlights Worrying Trends, Lawyers Warn

By Rob Dixon

Legal specialists representing victims injured in dog attacks across England, have once again called for vital action to be taken to tackle the issue, after new research revealed the most common areas for hospital admissions related to dog bites.

According to the data from the Health and Social Care Information Centre, the North West was found to account for more than 17 per cent of all admissions for dog bites or attacks in the 12 months to May this year.

Yorkshire and the Humber recorded the second highest number of admissions with 14.6 per cent. The overall number of hospital admissions in England for such problems stood at 6,334, with the research being published following a number of high-profile serious and fatal dog attacks across the country.

Irwin Mitchell’s team of dog bite experts specialise in helping victims of such attacks to gain justice and vital funds which go towards their rehabilitation, from the physical and psychological ordeals they have suffered.

David Urpeth, a Partner and legal expert at Irwin Mitchell who specialises in providing advice to dog attack victims who have suffered serious injuries in such incidents, said: “Barely a week now goes by without reports of someone being injured in a dog attack appearing in the news.

“We have also seen a significant increase in the number of enquiries we receive regarding such incidents, many of which may have simply slipped under the radar during the ongoing debate on this issue.

“The impact that dog attacks have on victims can affect them for years and leave them needing long-term rehabilitation to come to terms with the physical and psychological injuries they have suffered.

“While the Government is taking a look at this issue at present, we remain concerns that proposals are focused on the consequences of such attacks for owners, but less so on victims.

“This is why we have continued to call for the introduction of compulsory insurance for dog owners, which would guarantee that victims always have an opportunity to access financial support in the aftermath of an attack.”

Read more about Irwin Mitchell's expertise in relation to Dog Bite claims