Dog Bite
From Lawyer-personal-injury
Dog Bite
They say a dog’s bark is worse than his bite. Unfortunately that’s not always the case.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, 4.5 to 4.7 million people in the United States are attacked by dogs each year. One in five (over 800,000) people who are bitten receive serious injuries requiring medical attention or trips to the emergency room. Unfortunately half of those dog bite victims are children, whose injuries are usually more severe and require treatment because children are usually bitten on the head or neck areas. In 2006, approximately 31,000 dog bite victims had to undergo reconstructive surgery for the bites they received. In addition to severe and serious injuries, some dog bites result in death. Because of the potential for serious injuries, some jurisdictions have enacted laws prohibiting the ownership of certain breeds such as Pit Bulls and Rottweilers.
Dog bite injuries can range from cuts or lacerations to bruises or hematomas to severed limbs or amputations to broken bones or disfiguring scars. Victims may also suffer emotional trauma that requires years of counseling. Plus there’s always a risk of contracting rabies or some other disease.
It may be possible to recover your damages from the owner of the dog or the owner of the property where the bite occurred. Property owners may also be held responsible for attacks from other animals that occur on their property. All cases are different. The following factors may have an effect on your ability to recover damages for your injuries: where the bite occurred, how the bite occurred, whether the dog had been dangerous or aggressive in the past.
If you or a loved one is the victim of a dog bite, please contact us to explore your legal rights. The law varies as to the amount of time you have to file a claim. Therefore, it is important that you consult an attorney as soon as possible.
