Dog bites can cause serious pain and injury to the victims of the aggressive animal. In the worst cases, it can be essential to recognize signs and symptoms of your condition and know how to temporarily treat it. One of the most serious injuries that can occur during a dog attack is a bone fracture. A dog’s jaw is strong enough to break the bones in a human body if enough force is used. In addition to great pain that will certainly be experienced during a bone fracture, there is also the risk of infection, due to the puncture wounds left by the dog.
Infection and Permanent Disability Can Result From Dog Bite Injuries
Treatment of a closed, stable fracture is not difficult. The victim will have to wear a splint or cast to keep the affected area immobile during healing. After three or four weeks, the doctor will probably enforce exercise of the fractured area to keep it from becoming difficult to use later on. Open, dirty fractures are treated somewhat differently. The wounds will have to be thoroughly cleaned and the fractured bone will be splinted for a short time. Antibiotics will be administered and if a surgery is required to fix the bone, it will have to wait until after the antibiotics have properly built up inside the body to avoid the risk of infection. A more long-lasting splint will be put in place if surgery is not needed. Regular doctor visits will be necessary to keep an eye on the healing of the wounds.
Infection can be a likely event in dog bites that leave puncture wounds, because the bacteria from the dog’s mouth will have entered the body and can grow inside the wound. Infection in these wounds can result in anything from minor discomfort to death. Things that play a part in how serious an infection can be include what kind of wound exists, what the victim’s pre-existing health conditions are, whether or not there is a condition present that will keep the immune system from working, how much time passed before the wound was treated, whether or not a foreign body is evident in the wound and what kind of animal caused the wound.
Most dog bites result in injuries of the head, neck or face. Lacerations and fractures in the face can be particularly excruciating, resulting in injuries that are difficult to repair. The hands, fingers and wrists can also be severely damaged by dog attacks, as these are the things victims usually try to defend themselves with. A bone fracture in any of these areas can be an injury that takes great lengths of time to heal. Most people who fracture a bone will heal with time and are able to use the affected area again as before. Others may have a permanent disability because of the incident.
Dog Bite Victims Deserve Compensation for Their Pain and Suffering
In either case, victims of dog bites must endure a lot of pain and suffering and financial expense from medical bills and time missed from work. These things are covered by personal injury damages that can be gotten with the help of an experienced attorney. If you or a loved one has been bitten or attacked by a dog, call experienced lawyer Nick Ortiz at 850-898-9904 to discuss your claim.
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