No laughing matter: Illinois mail carrier severely injured by dog

On Behalf of | Aug 2, 2012 | Workplace Injuries |

When one thinks of a work-related injury for postal letter carriers, one of the most common injuries that one thinks of is a dog bite. After all, even in cartoons, dogs are often depicted as chasing around postal carriers in amusing sketches.

Though it’s not uncommon to make light of the antagonistic relationship between dogs and postal workers, unrestrained dogs pose a real threat for mail carriers. Unfortunately, one Illinois mailman quickly discovered that this is nothing funny about this situation after sustaining his own work-related injury due to a dog bite.

The accident happened when he delivered mail to a local resident’s house. He was aware that an aggressive pit bull had lived at the house, and took appropriate measures to avoid the dog. For instance, he would avoid going up on the house’s porch near the dog by placing letters in the box from the ground.

One recent day, while delivering the mail, the pit bull rammed through the screen door and attacked the man, biting the man’s groin area. Though he tried to fend off the attacking dog with pepper spray, he ended up spraying his own arm. Fortunately, he was taken to a medical center for surgery and is expected to recover.

This work-related injury has shocked this Illinois city and many are looking for ways to prevent this kind of accident from happening again. As officials look for possible solutions, the man may be relieved to know that workers’ compensation benefits, since he was injured while on the job. Benefits would likely cover any medical expenses that he incurred, as well as any time off of work caused due to his injuries he sustained in this accident. In this way, he will be able to recover from his injuries without the added stress of financial concerns.

Source: The Register-Mail, “Pit bull attacks mail carrier,” Ariel Cheung, July 25, 2012

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