Can You Sue Someone If Their Dog Bites You?


As you walk down a street in your neighborhood, the last thing you expect is to be bitten by a dog. However, statistics show that every year more than 4.5 million people are either bitten or attacked by a dog in this country alone. If this has happened to you or a loved one, you are entitled to compensation from the dog’s owner or their insurance. Dog bites can be quite extensive and hazardous and may include the need for hospitalization, rehabilitation, and more.

Besides extensive trauma, other consequences of dog bites may include disfigurement or permanent scarring, as well as pain and psychological impact. Working with a dog bite attorney will help you take advantage of the legal system to recover the money you need to cover your costs.

Before starting on the legal path, you may want to have some questions answered, and your lawyer can set your mind at ease by answering them. These can be:
- How to calculate the amount of compensation you might be able to receive.
- How to understand who is responsible for the dog bite.
- What costs can be included in the claim
- How the entire legal process will develop.

How can a personal injury lawyer help you?

Working with an Oxnard personal injury attorney, the incident will be thoroughly investigated to understand the circumstances that led to the bite, the owner will be identified, and negligence will have to be established. Armed with this information, a demand for compensation will be issued to make the owner liable for the injuries inflicted by their dog.

For the claim to proceed as expected, it will be important as well to make it clear that you or your loved one did nothing to provoke the dog and that you were bitten either while standing on public property or while lawfully on the property with the dog. This means that you were not trespassing.

What should you do after being bitten by a dog?

As soon as you are bitten, get medical attention. If you can do so, take pictures of the incident, of your bite, the clothes you were wearing, the place where it happened, the dog itself, and anything else you think might serve as evidence. So that you don’t forget any detail, write everything down as soon as possible.

Do not leave the scene without collecting data from the dog’s owner. You should get their contact information, the dog’s breed, and their insurance policy. If there are any witnesses around, get their testimonies and ask for their contact information should you need to reach out to them in the future when a legal claim is filed.

What can you include in your claim for a dog bite?

If a dog has bitten you, your claim may include, among others:
- The cost of the medical treatment you require to recover your health. This may also include hospital visits, rehab, and any cosmetic surgery.
- Both physical and psychological therapies to help you deal with the trauma.
- Any wages you have lost while recovering.
- Pain and suffering.

If the attack by the dog resulted in someone losing their life, you may also be able to recover damages due to wrongful death.

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Posted - 02/02/2022