Dog Bite Statistics for 2011 from The Dog Bite Lawyer

  • In 2011, 31 fatal dog attacks occurred in the United States. Pit Bull Terriers accounted for 71% (22) of the dog bite attacks. Pit Bulls make up less than 5% of the total dog population in the USA.
  • Adult personal injury victims of fatal Pit bull attacks in 2011 were more than doubled that of the number of child dog bite victims. Of the 22 total Pit Bull injury victims, 68% (15) were age 32 to 76, and 32% (7) were age 5 years or younger.
  • The year 2011 also marks an increase in pet Pit Bulls striking and killing their owners. Of the eight total instances this year in which a pet dog caused a fatal injury to its owner, 88% (7) involved Pit Bulls kept as pets.

Pit Bull Attacks vs Rottweiler Attacks

  • Pit Bull (22 deaths) and Rottweilers (4 deaths), which are the number two most lethal breed, accounted for 84% of fatal dog attacks in 2011. The seven year timeframe from 2005 to 2011, saw this same combination of deadly breeds account for 73% (156 deaths) of the total recorded deaths (213).
  • The breakdown between Pit Bull dog bites and Rottweiler dog bites is substantial over the seven year period from 2005 to 2011. Pit Bulls killed 127 Americans, about one person every 20 days, versus Rottweilers, which attacked and killed 29 persons; about one every 88 days.
  • The 2011 annual data reveals that 58% (18) of the deadly dog attacks occurred to adults (defined as 21 years old or more) and 42% (13) occurred to children bitten a dog (11 years and younger). Of the children, 62% (8) occurred to children ages 1 and younger.
  • 2011 dog bite data also shows that 39% (12) of fatal incidents involved two or more dogs; 26% (8) involved a breeding situation on the property of the dog owner, either actively breeding, or having breed in the recent past, and 6% (2) involved dogs who were tethered at the time of the attack, which is down from the 9% in the year 2010 and 19% from 2009.
  • Dog ownership studied revealed that for 2011, family dogs comprised a whopping 65% (20) of the fatal dog attacks that ended in the death of a family member; a huge percentage, 74% (23) of all incidents occurred on the property of the dog owners and 29% (9) resulted in criminal charges, up from 15% from the previous year.

    • Pennsylvania Dog Bite Fatalities Not in the Top Six

    The good news is that Pennsylvania was not among the top most deadly states for dog attacks. California and Texas led the nation in fatalities from dog bites for 2011, each with 4 deaths. Pit Bulls and Pit Bull mixes contributed to seven of those eight deaths! North Carolina, New Mexico, South Carolina and Virginia each tied with 2 dog attack deaths.

    Dog bite lawyers sure had a busy year in 2011!

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