California’s Civil Code 3342 explains that dog owners are responsible when their dogs bite people in most circumstances. With hand wounds a common injury, owners are often required to pay for medical care and physical therapy until the victim has fully recovered.
Maison Law represents Bakersfield dog bite victims who suffer serious hand injuries. We make sure they can pay every doctor bill and receive support while they can’t go to work. Victims should contact us for a free, no-obligation consultation. It’s a no-risk opportunity to find out what your case may be worth and how to hold a dog owner fully responsible for a hand injury.
Do I Need a Lawyer After Suffering a Dog Bite on the Hand?
If your dog bite injuries are serious, like broken fingers or a deep wound, it’s a good idea to bring your case to a skilled Bakersfield Dog Bite Lawyer. It’s a no-risk way to discuss what you should be demanding in compensation. Even a shallow bite wound can do major damage to someone’s hand. Victims may need months of physical therapy just to restore full function to fingers and thumbs and allow them to return to work.
When insurance adjusters see the enormous medical bills, they’ll seek to blame you for the dog attack or even try to convince you your injury isn’t all that serious. Your lawyer fully investigates your case so the facts can’t be changed and then demands the maximum in benefits for you and your family. A lawyer can often secure much more on your behalf than you could by taking on the dog owner’s insurer yourself.
Dog Bite Hand Injury Dangers
When dogs feel confused or threatened, they may lash out with a bite. Often, the closest body part on the victim will be the hands. A child may have reached out to pet a frightened dog. An adult may have extended hands to fend off a possible attack.
A dog’s jaw can clamp down to hurt any one of 27 bones found in the hand. A broken bone or tissue damage can make the hand’s delicate functions (e.g., using a computer or caring for a baby) cease to be possible.
These are just a few of the different types of hand injuries that send victims to places like Adventist Health Bakersfield:
- Hand Dislocations — Fingers, thumbs, and wrists can be dislocated and may need a brace after they are returned to their proper position.
- Hand Fractures – Fingers can fracture at several joints. A bone can easily snap in half. The metacarpals, the bones that form the palm of the hand, can also fracture. A broken finger usually takes about a month to heal, but it could take longer for the finger to return to full strength.
- Hand Lacerations – Deep cuts and tears. In more serious cases, “road rash” means that rough surfaces like pavement and the ground tear skin off the hand. Infections are a worry, and skin grafts may be necessary.
- Amputations – Bad breaks in the hand bones, even a crushed bone in the jaws of a dog, may require surgical amputation. An infection may also make an amputation necessary before it spreads.
- Tissue Damage in the Hand – Muscle, tendons, and ligaments could be torn. Nerve damage will affect the patient’s ability to grasp and hold. Numbness or a burning, painful sensation may be experienced.
- Nail injuries – A fingernail can be cut or torn off. A lost fingernail could result in permanent disfigurement.
- Dog Bite Infections – A dog’s mouth is full of bacteria, like Staphylococcus, that can spark infection and keep a wound from healing properly. Rabies is a virus that could be transmitted from a dog to a human through a bite.
The American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH) reports that the spaces between the bones in the hand, the joints, contain fluid that allows infection to grow and spread. A bite that tears through the tunnels where tendons are held can also lead to infection problems.
Physical therapy and occupational therapy might be necessary for months or years. These factors must all be considered when the size of a settlement check is determined. A skilled Bakersfield dog bite lawyer can help you figure out who is responsible for a dog bite and then demand the maximum in compensation on your behalf.
Who Is Responsible for Dog Bite Hand Injury Medical Bills?
California is a “strict liability” dog bite state. This means that in most instances, it’s the dog owner who bears most or all of the blame.
Victims don’t have to show negligence on the part of the dog owner to collect support to help them recover. It’s good enough to show that a bite occurred and to show who was responsible for the dog. The dog owner also isn’t off the hook if it’s the dog’s first time biting someone.
Wounded victims could seek compensation from the dog owner’s homeowners insurance or renters insurance for their physical, emotional, and financial damages.
The liability is usually clear unless:
- The victim provoked the dog.
- The victim was trespassing at the time.
To use strict liability in a case, a bite must have occurred. If a dog knocks someone down and someone damages their hands while landing on the ground, but no bite was involved, strict liability couldn’t be used to determine the case.
However, other personal injury laws still apply. Without strict liability, victims would just need to provide further evidence that a dog owner acted with negligence in the care and restraint of a dog. A skilled dog bite attorney would also help you prove that a dog’s actions caused your fall, not your clumsiness, as an insurance adjuster will try to claim.
Contact a Bakersfield Dog Bite Hand Injury Attorney
Consult with an attorney who understands the emotional trauma that comes along with the physical damage caused by a dog bite. Kern County dog bite victims need sufficient financial and emotional support to recover from such a traumatic experience. They need even more support to overcome a hand injury and the loss of their ability to work and care for themselves and their families.
When you contact Maison Law for a free consultation, you’ll talk to a real Bakersfield dog bite lawyer, and you’ll get our full attention. We will help you decide your best options for receiving the support you and your family will require to rebuild your lives. If you decide we can help you get the most out of your dog bite case, you won’t need any money now. We don’t get paid unless we win your case for you. Then our fee comes out of the money the insurance company must pay you.
