Local dog bite victims can seek help with their medical bills and their lost time at work. And in California, dog owners are liable for these damages in most every case.
Maison Law of Fort Bragg CA represents victims who have had their lives turned upside down by a careless dog owner. Our skilled lawyers help victims get the support they need to fully heal physically and financially. We provide a free, no-obligation consultation for all local injury victims so they are informed of every benefit available.
How Do I Know If I Should Call a Lawyer After Suffering a Dog Bite?
If you suffer a serious injury, like a fracture in the hand or a deep puncture wound, it’s a good idea to speak to a Fort Bragg dog bite lawyer about your options. A serious injury can come with elevated medical bills, and those costs make insurance companies defensive. They automatically start seeking ways to escape blame or to make your injuries look less severe than they are.
Your lawyer is your safeguard against these tactics and will fight back if you are falsely blamed or if your injuries are questioned. Your Maison Law attorney then sets out to secure as much as possible in a settlement check. Your attorney can often win much more in recovery support than you could by taking on a giant insurance company alone.
Who Is Held Responsible for Dog Bites in California?
In some states, when a dog bites someone, the owner isn’t liable unless the dog has a history of bite incidents or aggression. It’s known as the “one bite rule” because dog owners are often excused from responsibility if it’s the dog’s first bite.
However, in California, when a dog bites someone, the owner is responsible for any injuries, even if the dog hadn’t shown any aggressive tendencies or bitten anyone before.
This is referred to as a “strict liability” law, and it means the victim doesn’t have to prove any negligence on the part of the dog owner. As long as there was a bite, the dog owner is liable for damages in most situations.
However, some factors would erase the dog owner’s responsibility:
- The victim can’t have been trespassing when bitten.
- The victim must not have provoked the dog to attack.
Dog bites that happen in the victim’s own yard, on a sidewalk, or at a park like Fort Bragg Dog Park wouldn’t involve any trespassing, and victims could file claims against dog owners.
A dog bite lawyer can fully investigate what happened and look into the dog’s history. This examination is often helpful because a dog owner might try to conceal a previous bite case or attack simply to avoid financial accountability.
A Maison Law goes through public records and can talk to witnesses and neighbors to see if any reports have been made about the dog and the dog owner’s carelessness in the past.
Then, a lawyer files a case backed with evidence and medical documents to hold the dog owner fully responsible. The claim is often directed at the dog owner’s homeowners or renters insurance provider.
How Much Is My Dog Bite Case Worth?
Gauging how much you may receive in a dog bite settlement check will be hard until we’ve heard from you about what happened and have been able to investigate.
Your medical recovery will largely determine how much you receive. How long does it take you to recover? How high do your medical bills go? These questions may be hard to answer if an injury takes months to heal.
Your attorney would be seeking the maximum in support for these and other factors:
- Totals on medical care now and any that may be required in the future.
- Lifelong support for a dog bite victim who suffers a physical disability.
- Full support for a victim who suffers a permanent disfigurement.
- Reimbursement for travel costs for appointments with doctors and surgeons.
- Compensation for the physical pain victims may suffer for months, years, or a lifetime.
- Support for emotional trauma. This type of compensation can be substantial, especially for a victim left with PTSD symptoms from a scary attack. Disfigurement can also affect a victim’s self-esteem and ability to handle social interactions. Depression may set in if a victim loses enjoyment of life due to an injury that limits activities. These very real emotional damages must factor into a dog bite settlement agreement.
- Wrongful death benefits for families. In the most tragic cases, a life is cut short by a severe dog bite or attack. Nothing can replace a precious life, but families should seek justice on behalf of the family member and protect their financial future. The family would be able to seek financial support to make sure they don’t have to cover bills left behind, such as funeral costs. If the loved one has supported the family with a weekly income, that money must be replaced.
Frequently Asked Questions
What type of support do children need after a dog bite?
Maison Law wants to protect Mendocino County children after they’ve been hurt in a dog bite incident. Their tissue, muscles, and bones are much less developed and less able to withstand the pressure of a dog bite. Their injuries can be much more severe, and their recoveries aren’t always quick and easy. Healing can be slower, and those injuries can flare up as victims mature. An injury like a broken bone that never healed quite right can cause problems in a child’s teen years as their bodies grow into adulthood. Your dog accident attorney should demand much more in support for child victims, so they’ll have the money they need for any complications that develop in the years ahead.
What if I’m knocked down by a dog and hurt, but I’m not bitten?
Victims hurt by a fall caused by an excited or threatening dog can sue a dog owner for compensation. However, without a bite involved, they can’t use strict liability to prove that a dog owner was liable. There is more burden on the victim to prove who was at fault. They must show that a dog’s actions caused an injury and that the dog owner’s negligence allowed the accident to occur. In other words, it’s treated as a normal personal injury case. Victims don’t have to face this burden alone, though. A Maison Law attorney will build a strong case for you that holds a dog owner financially responsible.
What if I can’t afford to pay a dog bite lawyer?
And at such a difficult time, you don’t need to worry about finding the money to hire strong legal representation. Maison Law works on a contingency basis for dog bite victims. It means we don’t get paid unless we win the case for you and your family. Then our fee is paid out of the money a car insurance company is forced to provide.
Contact a Fort Bragg Dog Bite Attorney
Victims have up to two years to file a claim over a dog bite injury. But you shouldn’t wait years to explore your options. While you delay, valuable evidence can disappear, dog owners can move, and witnesses may be harder to locate. Speak to a lawyer as soon as possible.
Contact Maison Law for a free, no-obligation case evaluation. There are benefits available to you and your family that an insurance company may never mention. It’s a no-risk way to find out what your injury should be worth and how to demand that support from an unhelpful insurance provider.
