Researchers Create Shark-Bite Severity Scale

Instead of using my existing shark bite severity scale which ranges from "Stop hitting my leg!" to "Where did Rob go?", researchers at the University of Florida have created their own. Their new scale has a five-level of severity feature, which is similar to the burn severity scale. Lead researcher Ashley Lentz, M.D., a plastic and reconstructive surgery fellow at the UF College of Medicine, said, "If it's just an extremity and it's an abrasion, it's just a level I injury. If a shark comes up and takes a big bite out of a thigh and takes out the femoral artery, then that's a life-ending bite -- pretty quickly -- and you are talking about a level V injury."