Yesterday I received a post card from the US Postal Service which has mailed dog bite statistics to all homeowners and apartment dwellers advising homeowners in the State of Oregon of the risk posed by their dogs to letter carriers and also meter readers, newspaper delivery persons and children.

Last year nation wide the post office reports 2,863 letter carriers sustained dog bite related injuries which is small when you come face with a staggering statistic that 4.5 million people were bitten in 2009 – 2010. Citing that the postal service is not anti dog but pro- responsibility the reminder cautions that responsible pet ownership includes making sure pets are properly restrained.

I see unrestrained dogs who usually bolt through a partially opened screen door as a common thread in my injury law practice where probably 5% of my dog bite cases will involve postal carriers.

Summertime in Oregon means more dog bites and strict liability laws come into play on such cases. As there is a lot of confusion with dog bites and what people think is the two bite rule I took a peek at the Oregon state law ORS 609.095 since I got a call from a mother whose child was savagely attacked by a pit bull in The Dalles Oregon.

This Oregon law is important yet there is a big catch because it means if your dog bit and it’s your dog then you are liable but you still must prove liability in terms of negligence.

This summer some 60,000 census workers will hit the pavement to go to homes and followup on those who didn’t answer their census forms. Several thousand census workers will be knocking on door in the state of Oregon at least and you can expect injuries from falls and dog bites to occur.

Dog bite injury claims to census workers will inevitably face many hurdles to cover their medical bills and to secure money for pain and suffering from such injuries which are termed third party claims.

Having handled dog bite and fall injury cases involving postal and other similar works in Oregon the cases will fall into the same line and getting quick from an experience Oregon injury lawyer will be an important thing for these temporary public servants injured through no fault of their own.