HELP, my sister's dog bit the fireman

I can relate to difficulty with WC, however, there are laws in place to protect injured workers, and additionally, most firefighters are unionized these days so a dog bite fight is not something a comp carrier is going to want to deal with.

ORIGINAL: glenmar

Ummm, hurt on the job= no copay, no lost time, because an on the job injury is covered by workers comp.  Dogs are a known and common hazzard for firefighters.

I agree that someone should go see the guy....especially with a basket of fresh muffins or something yummy for him to share with the whole crew...and apologize up one side and down the other.

 
I second the yummy snacks idea---and I would call the firefighter's supervisor today and start sucking up by saying how terrible you feel and ask about how the guy is doing, etc. Apologize like crazy. Tell him you want to apologize in person to make sure you don't show up at the firestation with a basket of muffins at the worst possible time.
 
I would also think of three to five good things the rescue crew did and specifically tell the supervisor. Don't give them a lot of baloney, think of some concrete stuff. For example: we really appreciated how the lead crew member explained what was going on so clearly. It was comforting to understand what was happening with our Mom. Stress you much you appreciate firefighters and rescue crews.
 
Please keep in mind the firefighter may be getting some ribbing at the firehouse over the size of the dog that bit him and be sensitive to it.
 
As for worker's comp., insurance, etc.----is this a full time professional fire fighter? If this is a small town fire dept. he may not have all of the benefits folks in a big city give to full time professional fire fighters. (My brother was a firefighter part time for a volunteer town squad and then professionally for a small town.)
 
And, yes, firefighters do get bit and hit, etc when they go on calls and they know it can happen. EMTs and paramedics also get slapped/punched by drunks, spit on, cursed at and vomited on by people they are helping. It does come with the job, but it doesn't make it any less unpleasant to be the one taking the abuse. It makes me wonder why/how some people keep doing the job.
 
Good luck.

Ummm, hurt on the job= no copay, no lost time, because an on the job injury is covered by workers comp.  Dogs are a known and common hazzard for firefighters.

Actually patients usually still pay and are reimbursed or recieve a settlement depending on the workers comp, we do a lot of it for trauma as you could guess.

Edit: it sometimes can take a long time for worker's comp claims to go through, although $60 doesn't seem like a lot, it's still money he wouldn't have paid otherwise. You can't just come in and say I got hurt at work and get my services for free

I certainly wouldn't dream of speaking for all firefighters, but I can tell you that my DH does this job because he loves doing something to help people.  He's an EMT/firefighter, so he sees just about everything.  I think most firefightes also have egos that are bigger than the average person [], so the idea of lots of praise and appreciation, will go a long way towards smoothing things over.  Oh, and they do love to eat, so a plate of cookies or muffins would also be a nice touch. 

I've been hurt on the job a couple times and never had to pay a penny out of pocket.  Although I DID have to fight like a fiend with CA workers comp to get them to pay for the neck surgery.....amazing what an appeal will do to change their attitudes.
 
The company that I work for now has specific hospitals and providers that we send all our injured workers to.  If they choose to go elsewhere there is NO reimbursement, and they'll likely loose their jobs.  Being a temp agency, when we send anyone to a factory, if they get hurt the HAVE to be drug screened, even if they refuse medical treatement, and everything is layed out to them up front.

My sister did call the fire dept. last night and again this morning.  The fireman who was bit did not go to the hospital.  He treated the bite himself.  He was advised to get a tetnus shot.  The fire chief told my sister that she should be concerned about the fireman because he is losing sleep because he thinks he has rabies.  We know for a FACT, the dog does not have rabies.  The fire chief and the administrator was to call the man that got bit, find out the level of the bite and find out if he is going to pursue this.  They never got back to my sister. 
 
This dog has never bitten anyone before and we found out after the bite, the next day when an animal behaviorist came to the house that the dog has fear aggression.  Had we known this before, we would have taken appropriate actions, like crating the dog, etc. 
 
My mother was very sick and when she fell, we all went running and left the door open by accident, that is when the fireman came downstairs and went out the door and the dog was near him.  After this incident, my sister asked him if she could see the bite, but he refused to show her.  He was standing outside with two other firemen, talking and laughing.  He never once put his hand on his knee or showed he was in any discomfort. 

I wanted to add that my sister is more afraid of them taking the dog or putting the dog to sleep, not worried about being sued for money.  This dog is her baby and she cannot relax worrying what will happen to the dog. 

ORIGINAL: heidandseek

I already answered this in the behavior section.  I will tell you again, the fireman can and may decide not only to sue but to force euthanization. 

 
He may not be able to do anything----never mind force euthanization.
 
Many states adhere to something called the "one bite rule." Essentially, it gives the benefit of the doubt to a dog if it has never bitten, attacked, scratched, etc. anyone before.
 
So many times an owner can NOT be found negligent for the first bite unless it was well known that this was an aggressive animal.
 
I was pretty sure of this, but I looked it up online and this site seems to support what I am saying:
 
[linkhttp://www.dogbitelaw.com/PAGES/propensity.htm]http://www.dogbitelaw.com/PAGES/propensity.htm[/link]
 
Check out the laws where YOU live. There are links on the site. Keep in mind that the site may not be perfect, so check out town laws and state laws in their respective online databases.
 
In order to put a dog to sleep, the firefighter would need to ask for a court order and that's not a walk in the park. Given the breed of the dog, the nature of the injuries and the circumstances I highly doubt a firefighter would pursue having a 10 pound MALTESE put to sleep.
 
For one thing, his peers would certainly taunt him and the fire dept. would look very bad to the general public if one of its members had a dog that weighs the same as a gallon of milk killed for defending its home. Local newspapers would need to add pages just to handle the letters to the editor.
 
Apologize, make nice, get the dog some training and earn a CGC (canine good citizen title) from the akc so your sister's insurance doesn't skyrocket.
 
Peace.
 
 
 

The fire chief told my sister that she should be concerned about the fireman because he is losing sleep because he thinks he has rabies.

 
Oh puhleeze...that's just silly.  Of course I'm assuming the dog is up-to-date with his shots, right?  If so, then that's just nonsense.  Is your sister attractive?  Maybe they're just playing with her.  I think polarexpress's post is right on.  I can't imagine this being escalated to either the dog being taken away or euthanized.  Sounds like they're either playing with you all or making a big deal over nothing.  If they were standing outside laughing and talking, I'm guessing they're just playing. 
p.s. My DH had to have a tetanus before he was hired and is required to keep all vaccinations current.

Yes, of course the dog is up to date on all his shots.  The animal control officer has a copy of the rabies certificate and everything.  The fire dept. has been very rude to us.  This was said on the phone, so I doubt they are playing with her.  Like I said they were very rude, told my sister she needs to see a psychologist and when my sister said she hired an animal behaviorist, the fire cheif laughed and told her that was ridiculous.  The man that got bit also told my sister he was going to "boot" the dog.

Our house is up in shandels over this incident so much  stress and tension.  We are just afriad of losing our baby. 

Shelley - seriously, I'm sorry you're going thru this but my suggestion is to leave it all alone for now.  If the dog's got his rabies vaccine, then the guy's got nothing to worry about.  If he wants to lose sleep, let him.  Fretting about this is a waste of time for you and your family.  I truly doubt anything will happen and at this point, I wouldn't even bother with trying to appease them anymore.  As we've all said, it's highly unlikely the dog will be taken away or euthanized, so try to get some rest []

helley - seriously, I'm sorry you're going thru this but my suggestion is to leave it all alone for now.  If

I totally agree with Cathy, you risk making the situation worse. It is actually good for you that he did not seek treatment as it gives validity to the assertion that the bite was minimal. Also, many worker's comp claims will be denied if you don't seek treatment immediately which makes him even more stupid ( I had a patient who broke his back on the job recently but didn't seek treatment until the next week and his claim was denied-can't medically prove when it happened if you wait). I'm sorry this has been so stressful for your family, you have helped us all though by sharing your story. Next time something happens to us, we will be sure to lock up the puppies

I think some deep cleansing breaths might be in order.  Ottoluv is dead on right...even though others might have SEEN the bite, unless the paperwork is done right away, the fireman doesn't have a leg to stand on.

Okay, we have calmed down a bit, except for my sister!  I am okay, realizing that it was a total accident and has never happened before and it wasn't that bad, and he has an animal behaviorist he is working with, so things should be okay. 
 
A lesson learned is no matter who comes to the house that the dogs do not know, the dogs will be behind closed doors or in a room behind a baby gate no matter what, no exceptions.  No more taking chances even if the dogs seem completely okay!  I know you all learned from this too and you can never be too sure what a dog will do.  Thank you everyone for being honest and helping ease my mind.