Dog bites can cause far more than surface wounds. Animal attacks often result in serious injuries requiring extensive medical treatment, surgeries, and long-term care. Understanding the medical consequences of dog bites helps you ensure you receive proper treatment and document injuries for your legal claim.
Common Dog Bite Injuries
Puncture wounds from canine teeth penetrate deep into tissue, creating pockets where bacteria thrive. These wounds often appear minor on the surface but cause significant damage beneath. Deep punctures may injure muscles, tendons, nerves, and blood vessels.
Lacerations and avulsions occur when dogs tear flesh—ripping skin and underlying tissue. These wounds require surgical repair and often result in permanent scarring.
Crush injuries happen when powerful jaws compress tissue, damaging muscles and potentially fracturing bones. Large breeds can exert hundreds of pounds of pressure per square inch.
Fractures commonly occur in the hands, arms, face, and legs—either from direct bite force or from falls during the attack. Children are particularly vulnerable to skull and facial fractures.
Infection Risks
Dog mouths harbor dangerous bacteria that cause serious infections. Infection rates for dog bites range from 15-20%, significantly higher for certain wound types and locations.
Pasteurella is found in most dogs' mouths and causes infection within 24 hours. Symptoms include swelling, redness, pain, and pus drainage. Left untreated, Pasteurella can cause cellulitis, osteomyelitis (bone infection), and septic arthritis.
Staphylococcus and Streptococcus bacteria can cause severe skin infections, abscesses, and in serious cases, sepsis (blood poisoning).
Capnocytophaga is rare but potentially deadly, especially for people with weakened immune systems. It can cause gangrene, sepsis, and death if not treated promptly.
Rabies, though rare in domestic dogs, remains a concern. Rabies is almost always fatal once symptoms appear—seek immediate medical attention if bitten by an unknown or unvaccinated dog.
Signs of Infection
Watch for these warning signs in the days following a dog bite: increasing pain, redness, or swelling around the wound; red streaks extending from the bite; pus or discharge from the wound; fever, chills, or body aches; and swollen lymph nodes. Seek immediate medical attention if you experience any of these symptoms.
Nerve and Tendon Damage
Deep bites can sever nerves and tendons, causing permanent loss of function. Hand and facial bites are particularly likely to cause nerve damage. Symptoms include numbness, tingling, weakness, and inability to move the affected area normally. Surgical repair may restore some function, but damage is often permanent.
Facial Injuries
Dog bites to the face are especially devastating and common—particularly in children who are at eye level with dogs. Facial injuries may involve eye damage or loss, ear damage or loss, nasal injuries, lip and mouth injuries, and jaw fractures. These injuries often require multiple reconstructive surgeries and cause lifelong disfigurement.
Treatment Requirements
Proper treatment typically includes wound cleaning and irrigation to remove bacteria, antibiotics to prevent or treat infection, tetanus vaccination if not current, rabies prophylaxis if the dog's vaccination status is unknown, surgical repair for serious wounds, and follow-up care to monitor for infection and healing.
Don't delay seeking medical attention—even wounds that appear minor can develop serious infections. Medical documentation also creates important evidence for your legal claim.
Long-Term Medical Consequences
Many dog bite victims require ongoing medical care. Complications may include chronic pain from nerve damage, limited range of motion from scarring, repeated surgeries for scar revision, physical therapy for function restoration, and treatment for psychological trauma.
Documenting Medical Injuries
Complete medical documentation supports your legal claim. Keep records of all emergency room visits and initial treatment, specialist consultations and surgeries, prescription medications, physical therapy sessions, follow-up appointments, and out-of-pocket expenses for medical care.
Photograph your injuries immediately and as they heal. Document the progression from initial wound through healing and any permanent scarring.
Compensation for Medical Injuries
Your legal claim can recover compensation for past and future medical expenses, including all surgeries and hospital stays, medications and medical equipment, rehabilitation and therapy, and future procedures such as scar revision surgery. Work with your attorney and medical providers to calculate the full cost of treatment you'll need.