You felt the teeth break your skin, but the real danger started hours later. What looked like a healing wound turned red, swollen, and hot to the touch. By the next morning, you had a fever. Dog bite infections transform what might have been a straightforward injury into a medical emergency.
A South Carolina dog bite lawyer recognizes that infections can lead to sepsis, permanent tissue damage, or even death. The bacteria living in a dog's mouth, combined with the crushing force of the bite that drives bacteria deep into tissue, create conditions for dangerous dog bite infections to take hold.
Why Do Dog Bites Become Infected So Easily?
Dog mouths harbor dozens of bacterial species. When teeth puncture your skin, bacteria get pushed deep into tissue where oxygen levels are low. These are ideal conditions for dangerous organisms to multiply.
Puncture wounds are deceptive. They may look small on the surface, but beneath your skin, damage extends much deeper. The wound often seals quickly on the outside while infection brews underneath, invisible until symptoms become severe.
What Are the Most Dangerous Dog Bite Infections?
Not all infections carry the same level of risk, but several bacteria commonly found in dog bites can turn a minor wound into a life-threatening medical crisis.
Pasteurella
Pasteurella bacteria live in the mouths of most healthy dogs. Infection causes rapid inflammation. The bite site becomes painful, swollen, and red, often within 12 to 24 hours. If the dog bite occurred near a joint, Pasteurella can invade and cause septic arthritis or osteomyelitis, requiring aggressive antibiotic treatment and sometimes surgery.
MRSA and Staph Infections
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and other staph bacteria create stubborn infections that resist common antibiotics. MRSA causes antibiotic resistance requiring stronger medications, abscess formation needing surgical drainage, and potential systemic spread that can enter the bloodstream and attack vital organs.
Capnocytophaga
Capnocytophaga bacteria normally live in dog mouths without causing them harm. In humans, though, these bacteria can cause severe illness or even death. The typical incubation period is three to five days before symptoms begin. Once they appear, the infection progresses rapidly, causing flu-like symptoms, potential gangrene requiring amputation, and septic shock that can lead to organ failure and death within 24 to 48 hours.
Rabies
Under S.C. Code Ann. § 47-5-60, dog owners must keep their animals inoculated against rabies at a frequency to provide continuous protection using an approved vaccine. When a bite involves a dog with unknown vaccination status, victims face a critical decision about starting post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) immediately.
Rabies is almost always fatal once symptoms appear. Clinicians follow algorithms from the Department of Public Health (DPH) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that consider the animal species, vaccination status, and 10-day observation availability before starting PEP.
Tetanus
Clostridium tetani bacteria live in soil, dust, and animal feces. Deep puncture wounds from dog bites create a low-oxygen environment where these bacteria produce a toxin that attacks the nervous system, causing lockjaw, body-wide spasms, and potentially respiratory failure. If your last tetanus booster was more than five years ago for a contaminated wound (or more than ten years for routine protection), you'll need one immediately.
Who Pays When Infections Complicate Your Recovery?
South Carolina follows strict liability for dog bite cases. The dog's owner, or the person having the dog in their care or keeping, is legally liable when the victim is in a public place or lawfully on private property. Exceptions exist for provocation, trespassing, and bites by law-enforcement dogs performing official duties.
When infection sets in, your damages grow substantially. The dog owner's homeowner's or renter's insurance typically covers these losses through liability provisions. However, policies can include dog breed exclusions, animal-liability sublimits, or dog-bite exclusions that affect coverage.
The owner's liability includes all medical treatment, lost income during recovery, future medical costs for permanent damage, and compensation for pain and suffering. If you were bitten while working, like as a delivery driver, workers' compensation may provide benefits alongside a third-party claim against the dog owner.
What Should You Do After a Dog Attack?
Take proactive steps to protect your legal claim and full recovery:
- Wash the wound thoroughly
- Seek medical attention right away
- Report the bite to animal control
- Document everything with photographs
- Gather owner information
- Ask witnesses for their contacts
- Keep detailed records
- Document time missed from work
- Contact a South Carolina dog bite lawyer before speaking with insurance companies
South Carolina law gives you three years from the date of injury to file a lawsuit. Claims against government defendants fall under the South Carolina Tort Claims Act, which requires filing within two years, extended to three years if a verified claim is filed within one year. Minors and certain discovery-rule issues can toll or adjust these deadlines.