Warm weather in summertime in the state of Oregon and Washington unfortunately means an increase of facial dog bites to children so says Dr. Ricard Polsky PHD in his Dog Bite Behavior & the Law summer 2009 newsletter.

Having handled dog bite injury cases over the last 18 years I know he is right and such tragic cases often involve children who happened to be out playing in warm weather where unsafe owners often let their dogs roam unleashed.

Kids often get facial wounds and bites from dogs because as children they are shorter and their faces are at the attack prone level of the dog doing the harm. My best advice is photograph the wound and get an opinion from a qualified plastic surgeon.

Plastic surgery procedures usually occur post bite but getting a qualified dog bite lawyer involved earlier is critical to a good monetary recovery. Because while the wound will heal the claim and its monetary recovery should be brought in certain cases before the wound is corrected by the plastic surgeon.

It is well known in the dog bite injury field that sudden movements can prompt a dog to bite. Animal behaviorist Richard Polsky PHD in his summer Dog Behavior & the Law Report reports that a baby swing is a recently identified trigger in causing a predatory reaction in dogs. Polsky reports of a two week old infant who was dragged and killed by pit bull bred. He further reports of another child who died in swing after the child’s mom left the room.

Having handled and litigated dog bite cases in Oregon and Washington involving day care centers its prudent for any parent to inquire whether dogs are present, including whether there is a history of prior aggression, as well as to identify whether anything like a baby swing like trigger an aggressive response from a dog.

GMAC just released its annual survey of the nation’s driving habits and the news shows bad drivers in the state of Oregon rank number 8 of all 50 states. Worst offender is New York- who would have guessed.

GMAC’s survey was given to more than 5,000 driver in all 50 states. The survey which I would think GMAC uses to adjust its auto insurance rates shows the older the car driver the higher the test score. Car drivers past age 35 were more likely to pass than those younger than 35.

Men past age 45 had the highest scores while young drivers showed the highest failures. Which gives reason to my gut feeling that young car drivers cause the most serious car crash accident particularly in the car accident cases I have handled over the last 18 years in the state of Oregon.

Washington drivers interestingly ranked 17 in the survey- must be the calming pacific mist of the Puget Sound.