What to Do When Dog Bites Happen at Dog Parks

It’s a sunny day and you’re out walking with your daughter. You decide to stroll down the street to a local park. Dozens of people are out tossing Frisbees and enjoying the beautiful day. At the nearby dog park, you notice 3 or 4 dog owners milling about with their animals. Suddenly, out of nowhere, one of the dogs breaks free from its owner and races toward you and your daughter. Without thinking, you push her behind you and the dog lunges for you, biting your left arm.

This unfortunate kind of type of terrifying scenario occurs more often than most people think. Aggressive dogs break free from their owners or jump over a fence and attack children and others thousands of times each year. Sometimes the victims get away without injury or only with a scratch, but other times, these attacks can be deadly.

Dog Bite Statistics

Each day, across America, almost 1,000 people are attacked and injured by a dog. Some of these attacks are serious and leave the victims with scarring, both physically and emotionally. Out of these, about 30 people each year are killed by a dog attack and hundreds more receive injuries that will require a hospital stay or plastic surgery to repair the damage. A dog attack can also include other problems that can be just as severe, such as rabies and a high risk of infection.

Laws and Ordinances

Every city has animal laws, restrictions, and ordinances, and though they vary some in content, most include certain basic provisions that can hold the dog owner responsible for your injuries. In a court of law, you need to prove negligence in order to recover all hospital bills, lost wages and pain & suffering. In Texas, there are several ways to hold a person legally responsible.

Negligence

This is the most common claim made in personal injury cases. In order to prove negligence, there are certain factors or elements to consider. Though every case is different, the courts usually want you to prove four basic elements in order to win your case:

1. Ownership-you must prove the person owned the dog.

2. Reasonable care-did the person exercise reasonable care in preventing the animal from harming someone?

3. Breach of duty-Did the person fall short of their duty in some way?

4. Cause of injury-Did this breach of duty cause your injury?

As the injured victim, you do not need to prove that the animal was dangerous or vicious in order to win your case. This can be a mitigating factor, however, when suing for negligent animal handling. There are a number of other factors that can influence a judge’s decision and certain defendants, such as landlords, have a greater responsibility to provide reasonable care. That’s why you need an experienced personal injury law firm with expertise in this area to handle your case.

Zinda & Davis PLLC represents people across Texas in dog bite injury cases. If you or a loved one have been harmed by an animal attack, then you’ll need professional help to recover all of the expenses relating to your attack and subsequent treatments. Why not call today to set up your free legal consultation? This is the first step in finding out what your legal options are. An attorney will be happy to sit down with you and discuss your case and this can help you decide whether to move forward or not.

Call Zinda & Davis PLLC today. Our staff and lawyers are highly skilled, caring, and compassionate. We work hard to gather all evidence and put together a winning case for our clients.