Should You Hire A Dog Bite Injury Lawyer?

Dog bites are a common occurrence in the US, and most often, the victims are children. While these incidents usually leave individuals with serious injuries, most people don’t consider the psychological trauma caused by the event. 

If you or your loved one were bitten by a dog, you must seek compensation for the medical expenses and ensure the owner of the dog is accountable for the behavior of their pet. 

Thankfully, you can seek justice by leveraging the help of a dog bite injury lawyer in Jacksonville.

Here’s what you should be aware of.

Dog Bite Injuries In Florida

Some states adhere to the One Free Bite Rule which complicates personal injury cases as the victim has to prove that the dog has the propensity to bite or that it has bitten someone in the past. 

Florida doesn’t adhere to this rule and the owner of the dog who attacks another person is liable for any damages. 

The natural course of action is to pursue an insurance claim and hire a dog bite injury lawyer. They can negotiate fair compensation with the insurance company. 

If that fails, they can help you file a lawsuit against the owner of the pet. 

This is crucial, as even covering basic medical expenses will result in severe financial losses, and insurance may not cover everything. Dog attacks can often be devastating, leaving you

 hurt physically and mentally. In some cases, you may need to take time off work to properly recover. 

The Compensation You Can Receive

All of the above are reasons why you can seek compensation for the following:

1. Current and future medical expenses

2. Loss of income and earning capacity

3. Material losses

4. Pain and suffering

You can file a claim against the owner, and depending on the circumstances, a third party that caused the injury through negligence. If you know the dog owner personally (they might be your neighbor or a friend), worry not as the recompense you recover will most likely be paid from their insurance.

A dog bite injury lawyer can help you calculate the proper amount of compensation for your injuries and investigate your case to determine the dog owner’s liability. 

Depending on the other parties, it might be possible to settle the claim by negotiating with the owner’s insurance company. If this turns unsuccessful, your dog bite injury lawyer can pursue appropriate compensation in court.

What To Do Right After The Incident?

While being hurt by a dog or witnessing your loved one getting attacked is quite traumatizing, you need to act quickly. 

Seek medical attention right away as dog bites can be risky and should usually be checked out by the doctor as soon as possible. You should do the same about reporting the incident to authorities. If possible, ask for a copy of the accident report right away.

Make sure to list down the names of all the people involved. This includes the contact information and the dog owner’s name, as well as information about any of the people who were present when the attack occurred.

If you can, take photos of the dog that caused the injuries and make a record of the location where the animal attacked you. We recommend that you take photos of the injury as well. 

To provide a better idea of the damage, save the clothing you wore when the attack took place, especially if it has been damaged. The same goes for other property or items. 

Finally, don’t communicate with any of the parties without contacting a dog bite injury lawyer first. By accepting any form of compensation from them, you might be waiving your right to seek additional damages.

How To Prove Your Case

The hard part of every personal injury case is proving liability. This also applies to dog bites, as every case has varying degrees of difficulty in proving who is accountable for the attack. 

This is why hiring a dog bite injury lawyer is essential. Your lawyer will be familiar with the local laws that apply to the area you were attacked in, as well as all the intricacies of personal injury cases. While dog owners have a responsibility to ensure their pets cannot hurt someone in a public place, your case may still be quite complex, even though you don’t have to prove that the dog had a violent past.

For instance, multiple parties could be held responsible for the incident. If the attack occurred on private property or on the property of a business, the owner might be liable..

Most importantly, people don’t like to be accused of something, so you may very well experience a situation in which the dog’s owner will hire a lawyer. This can be tough for you as a victim to endure, especially if the opposing counsel tries to deflect your accusation by using the most common defense tactics in the book.

For example, they might claim that you somehow provoked the attack and forced the animal to cause you harm. Legally, this means you cannot be compensated since you’re responsible for what happened by threatening and provoking the dog.

Additionally, if the attack occurred on private property, i.e. you trespassed onto someone’s yard and got bitten by the dog, you can’t sue the owner.

Lastly, there is also assumed risk, which is a defense that claims the owner isn’t liable since they posted a warning sign about a dangerous dog. Hence, you are assuming the risk. However, this might also be used in cases in which you were attacked in a public dog park, where it might be argued that you assumed the risk of benign biting since you were in a dog park.

A dog bite injury lawyer is experienced in handling all of these defenses and is well-equipped to beat them, more so if the dog owner’s claims are unfounded.

Seek Justice With Rite

We’re aware of just how traumatizing the whole experience can be. Not only is it frightening, but you’re also recovering from your injuries and stressing out over your inability to work. So, having someone on your side helps.

By working with a dog bite injury lawyer, you’ll have a clearer picture of the legal options you have and the peace of mind that you’ll be compensated fairly. 

Here at RITE, we have extensive experience with different types of personal injury cases, and we can help you receive damages by filing a personal injury claim for a dog bite.

Seeking justice is an important part of the recovery process, and we believe that knowing someone is held accountable for what happened to you will help you move forward.

Contact us today to receive a free consultation in which our dog bite injury lawyer will take a look at your case and provide you with the best roadmap moving forward.

Note: 

The information in this blog post is for reference only and not legal advice. As such, you should not make legal decisions based on the information in this blog post. Moreover, there is no lawyer-client relationship resulting from this blog post, nor should any such relationship be implied. If you need legal counsel, please consult a lawyer licensed to practice in your jurisdiction.