SHOULD I HIRE A LAWYER IF A DOG BITES ME?
There are just over 4.5 million occurrences of a dog biting a human each year in the United States alone. Many of these are one-bite attacks. Some of those type of attacks do not require very serious medical attention, but the experience can remain emotionally traumatizing. Being bitten by an angry dog can be an exceptionally scary event. Victims of dog bites can attest to that fact. Of the 4.5 million dog bites each year, over 800,000 of them result in extremely serious medical conditions. A good number of those 800,000 serious attacks are from occurrences involving multiple dogs
When one person injures another person, the at-fault person should pay to help the injured victim recover. That is the way the law works. Allowing your dog to bite someone triggers the same legal chain reaction. It is possible to recover for you dog bite injuries without the help of a dog bite lawyer. It is also possible to stich up your dog bite wound yourself rather than going to the doctor, but I would not recommend it. You go to the doctor because he is an expert. He can treat your injury much better than you are able to. The same rule applies to hiring a dog bite lawyer. You could work directly with the homeowners insurance company that covers the neighbor whose dog bit you, but you will be shortchanged. Insurance companies are extremely successful financial because they are experts at getting their insured to pay their premiums, and they are experts at paying out as little as possible for each claim. When you do not consult an experienced dog bite lawyer, you’re choosing to go up against an entire team of trained attorneys all on your own. You are outgunned, and out-manned. I do not recommend it.
There are cases when an attorney may not be entirely necessary. Perhaps you know the person who owns the dog that bit you. After all, more than half of all the dog attacks in the U.S each year occur on the property where the dog resides. If you are on the dog’s property, you probably know the dog’s owner. Some owners may be very responsible and caring. They may realize that the laws of this great country do not let them allow their dog to attack their neighbors. They may want to avoid any claims going to their homeowners insurance at all. They may believe that those claims could result in an increase of their insurance premiums. They also may not want to force you to wait to be reimbursed by their insurance company while your expensive medical bills mount up. If that is the case, they may offer to pay you an amount out of pocket to help make up for their mistake. If the dog bite was a minor one, this may be a great route to solve the problem. Intelligent parties can typically solve problems by freely negotiating. However, if the dog bite was serious, I do not recommend this course of action. It is impossible for you to know the extent of your injuries immediately following the attack. A Utah dog bite lawyer can provide you with a free consultation to go over your rights before you agree to settle your claim.
If you have any doubt at all about how to conduct your affairs after you have been bitten by a dog, your best bet is to contact an attorney. A little knowledge can go along way. There is little worse than being victimized by an angry dog and then being victimized again by an aggressive insurance company. Don’t let it happen to you.
Selecting a Dog Bite Attorney
How do I select the best attorney for my dog bite claim?
If you’re looking for a dog bite lawyer, you may be looking for success, you may be looking for professionalism, and you look for a trial lawyer, someone that actually goes to a courtroom and makes an argument to a jury
That’s what we do. Dog bites can be a little bit touchy, particularly if there is a child involved. Parents are often incredibly worried about their child. What we do is tell them to do what the doctor tells you to and leave everything else to us, particularly when it comes to investigation. We get someone out there investigating as soon as you walk in the door. Frequently, I’ll get my investigator in the initial conference, so he can get an idea of exactly what happened, where he’s going to go and who he’s going to interview.
Dog bite cases involving a child often involve facial injuries, as well. We’ve had success in these cases. We like these cases because we can prevent a dog from ever doing something like this again. Give us a call.
Dog Bite Lawyer
would like to provide you some information about claims arising from dog bites and dog attacks. Many of us are the happy owners of loving dogs; dogs that pose no threat to others apart being the target of a friendly licking. Unfortunately, there are some dogs that are not only unfriendly, but are vicious. More unfortunately, there are dog owners that fail to properly control their dogs.
over the years we have handled many dog bite cases. Unfortunately, some of those cases have involved not just severe but occasionally devastating injuries from a dog attack. Under Indiana law, an owner of a dog must exercise reasonable care to make sure the dog does not pose a threat of harm or injury to persons or property. If an owner knows or has a reason to know that his or her dog has what is referred to as “vicious propensities,” then the owner must take steps to prevent those who may come in contact with the dog from being injured or attacked. Those steps typically involve keeping the dog contained within a yard or home or if the dog is to be taken out, keeping the dog on a leash or otherwise under control.
The old law in Indiana was what we lawyers referred to as the “one free bite rule.” That line of case held that an owner was not charged with knowledge of the vicious propensity of a dog until the dog first bit someone. That rule is no longer applies. Now, if a dog has shown vicious propensities, even without having bitten or attacked someone, the owner can be held liable for not keeping control of the dog. If a dog aggressively charges after people or angrily barks or growls at people, one can presume from such behavior that the dog poses a risk of attack upon others and appropriate protective steps must be taken to protect others from the dog.
In asserting a claim for injuries from a dog attack, one is able to recover for all medical and treatment expenses, for any loss of pay if work time was lost, for the pain and suffering occasioned by the attack and for any permanent injury resulting from the attack, including scarring and emotional trauma.
Take precautions against dog attacks
Most dog attacks are the result of insufficient control of the dog, or poor training. i.e. Bad owners. It is wise to be informed and prepared when dealing with an unfamiliar dog.
CHOOSING A DOG BITE ATTORNEY
A long-time client contacted our firm recently. His son had been bitten by a dog in the neighborhood, and he wanted to know how to select an attorney who can represent him in a dog bite case. When it comes to dog bite cases, it is very important to select someone who has years of experience in the courtroom, who’s not afraid to go to trial and who is not afraid to zealously advocate on behalf of their clients.
Out of Town Legal Resources
We primarily help people, but we are constantly looking for quality attorneys and online resources that can help people in other areas. We found a personal injury lawyer that handles dog bite cases and provides a lot of great online educational content
If you have found your way to this page, you are probably suffering from a dog bite injury. We understand that you are feeling a lot of things. You are most likely in a lot of pain from the attack, you might be worried about your finances, and we wouldn’t be surprised if you were struggling to return to your life as it was before the attack.
Dog bites happen far more frequently than you might think. Experienced dog bite lawyer is highly experienced in handling these cases because of this sad fact. As many as 750,000 people in the United States need medical attention because they were attacked by a dog. And in some most unfortunate cases, people can lose their lives due to their injuries.
Liable Party in a Dog Bite Case
At some point, everyone who comes to this page has the same questions. Do I have a dog bite claim? Who is liable for this dog bite?
How Can I Find The Best Dog Bite Lawyer
There’s an old saying among journalists that “dog bites man isn’t news; man bites dog is news”. You unfortunately know all too well that “dog bites man” is more than enough news for you and your family. If you or someone you care about has suffered an injury at the jaws of a dog in Wisconsin, it’s time to begin your search for the best dog bite lawyer for your personal injury claim.
It’s important to remember during your search that the ultimate decision is yours. You need to find an attorney with the qualifications necessary to obtain a successful result, paired with a personality and work style that you are comfortable with. The best dog bite lawyer in Wisconsin for you may not be the best Wisconsin dog bite lawyer for someone else.
You can’t squeeze water from a stone and you can’t obtain compensation that doesn’t exist. It will be up to your attorney to identify sources of compensation that can provide you with the financial resources to cover your medical bills, rehab, psychological counseling, lost earnings and more.
Dog owners are not always responsible for damages. Compensation often comes from insurance policies such as homeowners insurance. Compensation in some cases can be obtained via the insurance policy of a dog keeper. A “keeper” is a person who “must exercise some measure of custody, care or control”. This differs statutorily from an “owner”, which “includes anyone who keeps or harbors a dog.”
Double Damages For Repeat Canine Offenders
If the dog in your case has attacked someone in the past it may be possible to obtain double the damages for your dog bite claim. According to Wisconsin statutes, an owner is responsible for twice the damages in cases involving permanent physical scarring or disfigurement if they were previously notified or knew the dog had committed such an attack previously.