Fresno’s United States Postal Service (USPS) workers log a lot of miles in steps and road travel each day. They must worry about the correct delivery of millions of letters and packages over a year. They face many obstacles, but there’s one threat that continues to put their wellbeing at risk.
Dog bites continue to plague USPS mail carriers in Fresno. In fact, California is the state with the most dog bite incidents on postal workers each year. It’s a sad fact caused by dog owners and their neglect of the legal duty to keep others safe from their pets.
USPS workers may face months of rehabilitation from a bite and even suffer permanent disfigurement or disability. Victims should never have to face the costs of dog bite recovery alone. Fresno USPS dog bite victims must file injury claims to ensure they receive the support they’ll need to get back on their feet.
Contact a Fresno USPS Dog Bite Lawyer
USPS workers and all other dog bite victims should be able to focus on healing from such a traumatic event. They should not have to stress over how they’ll pay their medical bills or make up for their lost paychecks at work.
USPS workers can contact Maison Law today for a free, no-obligation case analysis. We will walk through the details of your case so that you can clearly understand all of your legal options. That may include securing compensation from more than one party.
If you decide we can help you get the most for your dog bite injury claim, you won’t need any money now. We don’t get paid unless we win your case for you.
Fresno Dog Bite Liability in USPS Attack Cases
USPS workers make thousands of deliveries each day in great local communities like the Fresno High Neighborhood or Fig Garden. They shouldn’t have to complete these routes while also fearing for their physical safety. Loose dogs and dogs left unattended in yards present real threats to every delivery worker.
Fortunately, dog owners are fully accountable when their pets bite. California is a “strict liability” dog bite state. This form of liability holds Fresno dog owners fully responsible when they bite, even if the dog has never bitten anyone before.
California law holds dog owners financially liable for dog bites on USPS delivery personnel as long as these factors are true:
- The attack happened on public property or on private property where the victim had permission to visit. USPS workers have implied permission to enter a premise when they are delivering mail for the homeowner.
- The mail carrier must not have provoked the dog into the attack.
- The mail carrier must not have been attacking the dog’s owner.
- A bite must have occurred. This liability only applies to bite victims. Dog attacks that don’t involve an actual bite fall under a different set of personal injury laws. A wound can be considered a bite even if it doesn’t break the victim’s skin.
Proving a Dog Owner’s Liability in a Fresno Dog Bite Incident
These factors seem easy to prove, but nothing is guaranteed when homeowner’s insurance company adjusters get involved. Insurance adjusters are paid to find ways to discredit your claim and limit the amount of compensation they have to pay you.
USPS workers can even be let down by their own employers and asked to deliver packages to an address that presents well-known dangers. Finding that insurance representatives or USPS managers work harder to avoid blame rather than asking what the victim needs can be discouraging.
However, having a skilled Fresno dog bite lawyer on your case is the only way to ensure you are treated fairly. Your lawyer begins gathering powerful evidence and witness testimony immediately. There may even be security footage or doorbell surveillance footage of your attack.
A strong case backed with proof makes it much harder for insurance providers and the USPS to deny responsibility or get away with sending you a lowball settlement offer that doesn’t cover all of your bills.
Finding Support for Fresno USPS Dog Bite Victims
Dog owners generally can’t deflect liability when their dogs bite someone. Their homeowner’s insurance or renter’s insurance would be called upon to provide full support to victims as they recover in the hospital and complete expensive physical therapy.
USPS workers might also be heading towards a financial cliff as they miss time on their mail routes and lose paychecks. They fall far behind on car payments and credit card bills before they even have a chance to fully heal.
You’d think that Fresno USPS managers would be supportive of their employees who suffer harm. Paychecks should never be docked for the time that a mail carrier loses while trying to heal from a traumatic dog bite injury. Unfortunately, victims can be treated unfairly simply for staying home to cope with pain and even a disability after a frightening dog bite incident.
A Fresno dog bite claim seeks to make sure victims don’t face these difficult times without support from at-fault parties and their employers. These are just a few of the factors that should contribute to the amount on a dog bite settlement check:
- Support for every medical bill you receive for dog bite medical care and an estimate on the care you may need in the years to come.
- Lifelong compensation for a permanent disability suffered that may keep you from ever going back to your USPS job again. You could be unable to earn a living to support yourself and your family without long-term support.
- Additional Support for a permanent disfigurement resulting from a severe dog bite wound suffered during a delivery.
- Compensation for pain and suffering. Support for the pain you’ve been through and the pain you may still experience years down the road. The emotional trauma you may experience after a frightening dog attack would also earn substantial support.
- Fresno USPS employees should receive reimbursement for every paycheck, promotion, and benefit they’ve lost while having to be away from their positions.
- Wrongful Death Benefits. In the most tragic cases, when a USPS worker is killed by a dog or later dies from the injuries, families are awarded financial support. The close relatives of victims should earn help to pay for burial costs and any leftover hospital bills. They could also receive reimbursement for the USPS paychecks deceased victims can no longer provide for their families each month.
Contact a Fresno USPS Dog Bite Lawyer
If you are a Fresno or Fresno County USPS worker and you’ve been bitten by a dog, make sure you aren’t left with thousands of dollars in medical bills to pay on your own. It can easily happen if you don’t have an experienced California personal injury attorney protecting you from irresponsible dog owners and their insurance providers.
You should also secure protection from insurance agents who will be working to discredit your on-the-job injury so they can save money. Your attorney would also demand fair treatment from the U.S. Postal Service to make sure you get every benefit available as you recover.
After a bite, contact an experienced Fresno Dog Bite Lawyer such as Martin Gasparian for a free and confidential case evaluation. Mr. Gasparian takes a hands-on approach to every case and works to help USPS employees achieve full recovery and the money to pay for 100% of their medical care.
