Personal Injury Attorney for Dog Bite Victims

If you've been attacked or bitten by a dog, you'll need a personal injury attorney with experience working in your state. A lawyer can help you claim the compensation you are rightly owed for any damages incurred.

Dog bite laws vary greatly not only by state but by local jurisdiction, which is one of the reasons why it is so important to choose a personal injury attorney who has had experience with similar cases. There are also other complications that often occur when filing a complaint or seeking compensation including finding the legal owner of the dog (and proving this), and the circumstances under which the attack took place. While being bitten is a traumatic experience, without the right legal assistance the situation can quickly worsen.

Liability for dog bites is different in every state. For example, some states have absolute liability, meaning the owner or caretaker is responsible in practically every scenario. However, other areas are more lenient with owners and operate laws under strict liability. In these locations, it may not be possible to claim any compensation unless there was significant damage and loss, and pain and suffering will likely not be an option regardless of the severity of the attack. A personal injury attorney must understand all of these slight differences in law intricately in order to build a compelling complaint or case in favor of his client.

Pinpointing the guilty party is sometimes difficult. A dog that attacked while it was roaming the streets, for example, may have been abandoned some time ago, but if it can be positively linked back to a specific owner such as through microchip tagging, they may still be liable. Sometime, it is the person who is in control at the time of the attack who will be held responsible for any damages. It is common for another family member or friend to be in possession of a dog that legally does not belong to them, but the bite occurs when they have assumed accountability for the animal. If you're unsure of who is the guilty party or are having difficulty locating them, a personal injury attorney can help you investigate the matter further.

There are several defenses that the dog owner can use against your case, and most of them concern the circumstances of the attack. In many states, provocation of the animal, trespassing, attacking the owner or dog, and putting yourself in a situation of known risk can all release the owner from liability for payment of any damages, if their claims can be proven, of course. That doesn't mean that a sign attached to a gate or a verbal warning is necessarily going to unravel your case. There are several counter arguments against many of these defenses including obstruction of any written signs, inability to comprehend the verbal warning (when a small child is the victim), or a clear violation of another law such as a leash ordinance.

In recent times, dog bite laws have tightened in several states and the government is cracking down on negligent owners with little control over their pets. There are now many areas that ban certain breeds such as pit bulls altogether, which means an attack by one of these animals can be treated as a felony.

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