Can You File A Personal Injury Lawsuit After A Dog Bite?
Dog owners have a duty to always keep their pets under control. If you get bitten by someone's dog, you could hold the owner liable for your injuries and medical costs. Ask a personal injury lawyer to analyze your case and see if you have grounds for a lawsuit.
What Should You Do After Being Bitten by a Dog?
One of the most common scenarios is getting bit by a strange dog that's off-leash. Even if you've met a dog before, it could get aggressive and bite you. After you've been bitten, the most important thing to do is get proper medical attention. Even if the bite isn't deep, it could get infected. Dogs have many types of bacteria in their mouths, so getting the bite cleaned and dressed by a medical professional is important. Another reason to see a doctor immediately after being bitten is that the medical reports will provide evidence of the cause of the injury and the extent of the damage, which you will need to present when filing a personal injury lawsuit or seeking an insurance settlement.
The second most important thing to do after a dog bite is to identify the owner and make sure they control their dog. If you were bitten by a dog at someone else's private property, then letting them know of the injury and ensuring that they control the dog should be easier than if you were in a public place bitten by an off-leash dog. If you can't identify the owner, call animal control. Assuming that the dog isn't a stray, animal control should keep in touch and let you know who the owner is so that you can name them in a subsequent personal injury lawsuit.
What About Homeowner's Insurance?
In the best-case scenario, the dog's owner will have adequate homeowner's insurance to cover medical treatment for your injuries. However, if the owner is underinsured or if your injuries were severe, then you might have to seek compensation for the full amount in a lawsuit. For example, if the dog bite was so serious that you suffered severe lacerations on your arm and had to take weeks off work to heal properly, you might want to include both medical bills and lost wages in your personal injury lawsuit.
Things That Might Invalidate Your Case
It's important to note that if you provoked the dog before it bit you, you may have a harder time winning your lawsuit for compensation. It's also important to know the laws surrounding dog bite liability in your state; for example, some states rule that a dog owner is not responsible for your injuries unless they knew their dog was aggressive, such as if it bit someone in the past. A personal injury attorney can look at your case and state law to determine if you are likely to prevail in a lawsuit against the dog owner.