Your dog bite can be considered a painful and terrifying experience. Many animal attacks cause serious injuries, including everlasting disabilities, scarring or disfigurement, along with long-term or lifelong psychological injury. Tragically, these injuries, and even the chance of death, are greatly magnified whenever a child is the victim. Unlike auto accidents, a slip and fall, or a defective product injury, however, regulations surrounding dog bites could be very complicated and confusing, which makes it problematic for a non-lawyer to recover compensation for the resulting injuries.
Dog Bite Laws Change from State to State
Some states follow a basic negligence standard, holding pet owners liable when their negligent behavior allows their dog to bite to another. Other states have adopted a strict liability standard, holding owners liable any moment their pet bites someone else, without any consideration of negligence and regardless of whether the dog owner was exercising care in keeping or handling the pet at the time or not. One more popular approach only holds owners liable if indeed they previously knew that their animal had a dangerous or vicious propensity to bite or attack. This doctrine is categorised as the “one free bite” rule, because an owner may not be liable the very first time their animal attacks a person, but after that incident they are really on notice and accountable for future attacks. You can contact dog bite lawyer for more details
Dog bites can cause serious injuries, including compound fractures, facial lacerations and puncture wounds, internal injuries, nerve damage, scarring and disfigurement, rabies, and emotional trauma. Victims sometimes come away from a vicious animal attack with long term physical disabilities as well as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, or a lifelong fear of dogs or open places. Death from an animal attack is a very real possibility as well, in particular when the victim is a tiny child.
Proving the extent of damages is not the one hurdle a personal injury victim must face. Pet owners have several defenses to liability, including claiming that the victim provoked the animal or elsewhere assumed the chance to be bitten, or caused or contributed to the incident. Also, dog bite victims may be reluctant to bring legal action against the owner, either because they don’t know regulations or are a friend, neighbor or relative of the owner who does not need the dog owner, or the dog, to enter trouble. However, oftentimes, insurance is open to cover the expenses of some or every one of the treatment and other financial injuries caused by the attack. Which is just what insurance is designed to do.
Dog bites and animal attacks take into account over 1,000 visits to the every day, and dozens of people die every year from dog bites. By pursuing action against who owns an unhealthy animal, you not only secure much-needed compensation by yourself and your family, nevertheless, you make the community safer and prevent others from being attacked.