You’ll find dongs very helpful and wonderful companions. But they can be dangerous too, especially for the people they don’t know. This happens because of their safety and protective instinct. Also, sometimes they become furious because of diseases.
No matter what the reason is, when a dog attacks someone, the result can be dangerous. Often the person ends up having severe personal injuries that can result in long-term or permanent disability. In the case of children and older adults, the result is often death.
As it is seriously damaging, if you’re attacked by someone else’s dog that causes you severe damage, the law is there to help you. You’ll get compensation for your monetary and non-monetary damages.
To file a lawsuit against such a damaging dog attack, you’ll need a dog bite lawyer to help you with every component of the case. Let’s know who such a lawyer is.
What do You Mean by Dog Bite Lawyer?
A lawyer for dog bites is a person who has practised personal injury laws, pet laws, and dog bite laws to help people facing severe damage caused by dog bites. They are typically personal injury lawyers, but they have experience with pet laws and laws regarding dog bites.
You can go to them for assistance in filing a dog bite lawsuit.
What is a Dog Bite Lawsuit?
For anything done by a dog, the owner is responsible. So, you can file a lawsuit against the dog’s owner that has attacked you or someone from your family and caused serious injury or death. Such lawsuits are called dog bite lawsuits.
Besides biting, other damaging actions of dogs also make the owner responsible. For example- if a dog chases a bicycle and the rider falls and faces severe damage, the owner can be sued through such a lawsuit.
In a dog bite lawsuit, the lawyer can help you in many ways.
What do Lawyers for Dog Bite Do?
Insurance Claim: If a dog bites you, you can claim compensation from the insurer of the dog’s owner. But the insurance company will try to provide you with as low as possible as compensation. When you have a lawyer, they can handle the settlement with the insurer and help you to receive good compensation.
Insurance comes with a lot of terms and conditions that might confuse you. Lawyers can easily understand it.
Collecting the Proofs: If you provoke the dog first, you won’t get compensation for what happens because you’re the party at-fault. So, collecting the proof of your innocence is necessary in this kind of case.
The lawyer can check the overall situation and collect proof of your innocence to get compensation for the damage.
Take You through the Process: The process of filing a lawsuit and continuing it includes a lot of work to do. Your lawyer knows everything about it. So, they can take you through it without any issues.
Hiring a lawyer will help you to avoid numerous hours studying exactly what to do in the whole process.
Calculate the Compensation: Lawyers know just what would be considered while claiming compensation. So, they can help you with calculating reasonable compensation if you want.
Your lawsuit will be weak if you ask for huge compensation without proving anything. The same happens when you ask for a lower compensation than the damage. That’s where your lawyer can help you.
Represent You in Court: If you appoint an attorney, they’ll represent you in court and do everything you need to do. It is a great relief because most people don’t know how to present themselves in court.
Lawyers can’t directly represent you there because they lack a degree.
Should I Get a Lawyer for a Dog Bite?
If this is your question, the answer is- it varies.
In case the dog bite causes huge damage to you, and you want to get compensation for that, you should get a lawyer for the dog bite. The lawyer can help you with everything about the lawsuit. It is your right to get compensation for the loss and cost caused by a dog bite. So, use this opportunity.
On the other hand, if you’re not concerned much and don’t want to file a lawsuit, you shouldn’t appoint a lawyer for this incident. However, getting a lawyer with you is a good option if you want to settle it directly with the dog’s owner. This would help you to handle the insurance company of the owner.
As it is your right to receive compensation for the issues and costs caused by a dog bite, I suggest getting a lawyer and claiming compensation. Handling such a case alone can be stressful for you as you have to learn enough about personal injury law, pet law, and dog bite law.
But if you don’t want any hassle, you can leave it. It’s your choice.
How to Select a Lawyer for Dog Bites?
If you choose to go for a lawsuit for compensation, it’s time to find a lawyer. Finding a dog bite lawyer won’t be very tricky because you’ll find many who are working with personal injury law. However, getting someone good can be a bit tricky.
You can make this easy by following a four-step process of finding an attorney for dog bite cases. This process is applicable to your search for any lawyer.
Step 1- Get Recommendations
In this step, you should look for options that can recommend you someone. The best way of getting a recommendation is using a search engine. You can search with the keyword “dog bite attorneys near me” or “dog bite attorney in (your city)”, and you’ll see many people serving such service.
Also, going to your friends and relatives is another good option. Ask them if they know someone who works with dog bite and personal injury laws. If you know any lawyer, they can help you with the best recommendation.
Your local bar community can aid you too. Go there and ask for a suggestion if you don’t get enough suggestions from the previous two options.
Make a list of them. At least 12-15 names should be on the list.
Step 2- Evaluate Options
Now you have a lot of options you can pick from. But you want the best. So, some more time should be spent on evaluation.
For this, check the websites of the law firms or individual lawyers on your list. From the websites, you’ll know about their experience, degree, specialization, availability, etc. Some lawyers don’t own websites. You can try checking their social media profiles.
Websites will help you with reviews too. However, reviews can be manipulated. So, try to depend on reviews from dependable review platforms only. You’ll find several platforms for customer reviews and ratings for services or legal services.
After this step, keep the top 5-6 on your list.
Step 3- Communicate Directly
Enough with collecting information and rating based on others’ opinions. Now you’ll have to depend on your own opinion. For that, communicate directly with the lawyers. Call them to talk about your problems.
Most lawyers offer a free consultation service. So, go to them directly and let them know about your case. Let’s see what they say.
In this step, you’ll evaluate their communication skill, your comfort with them, their interest in your case, availability, fees etc.
Step 4- Pick One and Proceed
After the last evaluation, you must know with whom you can proceed. I suggest prioritizing their communication skill and your comfort with the lawyer.
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What to Ask a Dog Bite Lawyer?
Though dog bite cases don’t seem to be that serious in most situations, allowing someone good to handle the responsibility can help you receive proper compensation. To pick the best lawyer, you need to ask some questions while facing your options directly.
What’s the best thing I can do now?
Filing a case is not the best option always. There might be some other ways. Also, your case doesn’t have strong points, maybe. So, after describing everything to the lawyer, you should ask them about the next step.
They can give you the best suggestion.
How much time can you invest in my case?
A dog bite case is similarly important as any other personal injury case. It needs enough time and attention. So, ask the lawyer about the amount of time they can invest in your case. You shouldn’t pick them up if they are busy with more than 4-5 cases.
What if the owner says I provoked the dog?
It is common for the dog’s owner to try to avoid paying compensation in any way. So, they might charge you saying you’ve provoked the dog. Ask the lawyer how they can defend such a counterattack to win the case.
Rules are different in different states. So, the answer will be different too.
What if the dog has never done such an activity before?
In several states, owners are not protected by the clean past of their dogs. For any violent acts of their dog, they would be punished. In some starts, a clean past can save the owners to some degree. But a minimum compensation should be paid.
So, you’ll receive a minimum compensation even if the dog has a clean past.
When to Get a Lawyer for Dog Bite?
As soon as you determine that you’ll ask for compensation for the dog bite incident, you should get someone to help you with this case.
Being late is a bad idea when it is a dog bite case. The bite mark can vanish with time. Also, the documents and other proofs can be lost if you’re late. So, get a lawyer who works with such cases as soon as possible.
It doesn’t mean you should start looking for a lawyer just after the dog bites you. In such a situation, the first thing you should do is look for treatment. A dog bite is dangerous and causes deadly diseases. So, go to the hospital, get proper treatment, and then start searching for a lawyer or attorney to help you file a case.
What to expect from a Dog Bite Lawsuit?
A dog bite lawsuit can be more complex than it seems. As it is a matter that includes personal injury and compensation, you need to have strong proof against the claim. Just the bite marks and proof of bite are not enough to sue a dog’s owner.
Depending on the state rules, you need to prove several other things, too, including-
- Biting history, at least one
- Previous complaints about the dog’s behavior
- The habit of growling and barking at people
- History of jumping up on people or chasing people or bicycle
- Fighting with other dogs
These would strengthen your case.
Also, you must prove that your sufferings have a direct connection with the dog bite.
If you can prove that the dog has bitten you and it has previous history or habit of harassing or biting people, you may win the case and receive compensation.
From a dog bite case, the expected compensation areas that’ll be counted are-
- The total medical expense you’ve spent to treat the dog bite injury and other related issues
- Any future cost of treatment caused by the dog’s bite
- In case you miss work because of the incident, you’ll be compensated for lost wages
- Loss of future income will be counted if your earning capability gets hampered
- Pain and suffering you’ve faced because of the dog bite
- Emotional distress
You’ll get compensation for the fields you can prove to have a direct connection with the dog’s bite. Otherwise, the compensation filed would be excluded. The court will focus on both parties similarly. So, a false claim won’t be granted.
Who can be Sued for a Dog Bite Case?
The first thing your dog bite lawyer would search for is the person to sue for the incident. In most cases, the owner of the dog is to be sued. However, other parties can be liable too. Let’s see some other parties you can possibly sue for a dog bite case.
Dog Keeper or Caretaker
The owner is not the only person who keeps the dog all the time. There might be someone else who takes care of it sometimes. The person is typically known as a dog keeper or caretaker. If the dog was in the custody of the keeper or caretaker at the time of the incident, you can sue them for the incident.
Maximum states allow you to do such.
Landlords
You can even sue the landlord of the dog’s owner. However, this is not always possible. To be sued, the landlord must-
- Know that the dog has some dangerous tendencies or such issues in the past
- Own the right to remove the dog from his property
Commercial Property Owner
A commercial property owner must ensure that nothing on their property can create a dangerous situation, including a dog with an attacking tendency or history. So, if the attack happens on commercial property premises, you can sue the owner for keeping such a threat there.
Other Parties
Based on the case, some other parties can be liable for the dog bit incident. For example- you can sue a community president for keeping such dogs in the community.
Only the dog owner is not always responsible for what happens. So, if he is unable to compensate you fully for what’s happened, you can search for other responsible parties and sue them equally. However, it is the court’s task to measure the degree of liability and proceed further based on their liability.
How Much Do Dog Bite Lawyers Cost?
As dog bite cases are similarly serious as any other cases, the legal cost would be similar. However, you don’t need to worry, as most lawyers don’t charge an upfront fee. Instead, they follow a contingency fee structure that allows you to pay only if you receive the compensation. If you lose the case, you won’t have to pay anything.
The typical contingency rate is one-third of the total compensation. However, it varies within the range of 25%-40% in most cases, depending on the lawyer’s experience and several other factors.
Some may ask for an upfront fee as a part of the costs associated with your case. The rest can be paid after the case is won. This is a good option too.
Though most lawyers don’t ask for a flat fee nowadays, you should try to avoid it if you find anyone. In these cases, even if you don’t win, you’ll have to pay.
Can Such a Lawyer Defend a Dog’s Owner?
A dog bite lawyer doesn’t only help the affected person. The dog owner can also appoint a dog bite lawyer to defend it in the lawsuit. As such a lawyer knows the laws regarding dog bites, there is a scope that he can defend the lawsuit and minimize the amount of compensation.
For example- if the person was trespassing somehow and the owner can prove it, no compensation is required. Dogs are sensitive about their area, so they are kept to eliminate trespassing. In such a case, the person is mostly faulty.
Also, the lawsuit is invalid if the dog does not bite the person. Even if the dog shows an attempt to bite the plaintiff, as long as it doesn’t bite, there is no reason to file a lawsuit. Your dog bite attorney can easily defend such cases.
Again, if the person provokes the dog, your lawyer has a huge scope to defend the case within a short time. The reason is simple- when the person provokes the dog, he is liable for what has happened. This is what the law of most states says. In other states, the case will proceed further if the person can prove that the dog was not provoked by him intentionally.
Like these three, a few other ways can be followed to defend such a lawsuit. So, the dog’s owner can hire someone to defend them in court.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
How long does it take to settle down a dog bite case?
Before filing a lawsuit, most lawyers send a notice to the dog owner’s insurance company for compensation. It can be a 4-month to 6-month notice. Most cases become settled within this time. If they don’t want to settle with compensation, a lawsuit can be filed that takes around six months to one year to settle.
Should I talk to the insurance company directly?
Insurance companies work to reduce their cost by any means. So, if you talk to them directly, they might settle it at a low amount. If you hire a lawyer for this, the settlement amount would be proper, as lawyers have better negotiation skills.
How long do I have to file a dog bite case?
These cases are complex, and the proof may vanish with time. You need to file a case as soon as possible. However, the maximum time limit or statute of limitation for dog bite cases is around 2-6 years, based on your state. In most states, it is around 2-3 years. But in Minnesota, it is around six years.
The statute of limitation varies depending on several issues. So, you should be careful and contact a lawyer as soon as you’re ready to file a lawsuit.