Cyclists in Bell are empowered to hold dog owners accountable after being chased and bitten. Riders can also seek compensation if a dog causes a crash and injuries. This support can help pay hospital bills and normal monthly bills while a rider is out of work, but unfortunately, insurance companies can make it difficult for victims to get assistance. A lawyer can be a necessary protection for victims.
You can speak to a skilled Bell Dog Bite Lawyer in a free case consultation to find out if you could do better with a lawyer’s help. It’s a no-risk opportunity to find out what your injury should really be worth and how to hold an insurer fully liable.
Do I Need a Lawyer After Suffering a Dog Bite While Riding My Bike?
It’s often a good idea to go over your case with a lawyer if you suffer serious injuries in a bite incident. Unhelpful homeowners insurance companies might see escalating medical bills and decide to focus on avoiding blame. They can blame you for what happened or cast doubt on how badly you were hurt.
Your lawyer acts as a safeguard for your case and can also earn you more in many cases. These are a few of the ways a lawyer positively affects the outcome of your case:
- Fully investigates the accident and the dog owner
- Has evidence ready if an insurance company tries to blame you as an excuse to reject your claim
- Works with your doctors and gathers medical charts to show the extent of your injuries and the consensus on the support you’ll require to fully heal
- Files your claim for you and negotiates for the best outcome possible, while allowing you to focus on healing and getting back to your bike rides
- Often securing much more for you in compensation than you could probably earn by handling an injury claim yourself
- Ready to file a lawsuit and take an insurance company to court if you aren’t offered a fair settlement for what you’ve been through
Who Is Liable After a Dog Bite?
In California, dog owners are generally held responsible for all bite wounds, even if the dog doesn’t have a history of biting. Dog owners are responsible from the first bite onward.
The dog owner (usually the owner’s insurer) would have to help pay off medical bills and replace paychecks that victims lost while being physically unable to perform their jobs.
There are only a few ways the dog owner could escape blame. The dog owner might claim the rider was trespassing at the time of the dog attack. The dog owner might claim that the rider provoked the dog.
Your Bell Dog Bite Lawyer would have evidence at the ready to deflect false accusations and hold an insurance company fully liable.
Can I Seek Support If a Dog Causes Me to Crash?
Bicyclists in Bell might also be put at risk by a dog chasing them down and causing a wipeout or crash. A frightened rider might fall off a bike and be injured on the pavement. The panicked victim might end up going off the path or street and going down an embankment or striking a tree. A dog barreling toward the bicyclist might also force the rider out into traffic and into the path of a truck.
Unfortunately, there’s a higher standard of proof involved with a case that doesn’t involve a bite. The main difference from a bite case is that more evidence would be needed to prove that a dog’s actions caused a victim to crash or collide with another vehicle.
A skilled Maison Law legal representative would investigate what happened and document the evidence needed to hold a dog owner’s insurer fully responsible.
What Type of Support Can I Expect After Getting Bitten by a Dog While Riding?
Your Maison Law Attorney would demand support for every hardship you endured as you mounted a recovery. That wouldn’t just include the economic damages you had to manage.
Your emotional recovery must also earn compensation. That includes the anxiety and depression caused by a difficult recovery and the time you’ve had to avoid climbing on your bike.
It can include the PTSD symptoms from the moment a dog attacked, which might have you frightened to return to the road again.
These are just a few of the damages that must help determine the size of a settlement check:
- Past and future medical bills
- Past and future lost earnings
- Any permanent disfigurement
- Any permanent disability
- Pain experienced
- Emotional trauma
- Loss of enjoyment of life while unable to ride
- Costs to repair or replace a bicycle
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is my bicycle dog bite accident worth?
It’s hard to give you an estimate on what you may earn in an injury claim until we’ve heard about what happened to you and have been able to investigate. Every accident is different. Every injury is different. Every victim heals at a different pace. Car insurance policies have different maximum limits on what they will provide. There are some factors that will play a big part in how much you’ll receive in a settlement check. The totals on your medical bills. The totals on the income you lose while being out of work. You’ll also have to consider the physical pain you’ve endured and the emotional trauma. These factors would only increase the size of the settlement check you received. A Bell Child Injury Lawyer would demand the correct amount from an insurance company.
What if my child is bitten by a dog while riding a bike?
Children are unfortunately the most at risk when a dog is allowed to run free to bite cyclists. Children will be closer to a dog’s level, leaving the entire body vulnerable. A child’s body also has less tissue and weaker bones. They are more likely to suffer traumatic injuries from a bite or a bicycle crash. A young victim is also still developing, so a dog bite injury or bicycle injury is much more likely to cause complications in the future. Any accident settlement would need to include additional funds to cover any surgeries required if the victim’s past injuries suddenly flared up and affected growth in their teen years. A settlement would also need to cover the potential for additional physical therapy.
What if I can’t afford to pay a dog bite accident lawyer?
If you feel Maison Law can help you earn more for your injury, you won’t need any upfront money to hire us. We don’t get paid unless we win your case for you. Then our fee comes out of the settlement check that an insurance company provides.
Contact a Lawyer Serving Bell CA Dog Bite Victims
If you or a loved one has suffered a serious injury after a dog attack while riding a bicycle, discuss your case with a skilled Bell Bicycle Accident Attorney as soon as possible. Dog bite victims should never be left to face the costs of recovery alone.
Reach out to Maison Law to make sure you are clear on the rights you have as a victim and the benefits that are available to you and your family.
