Maison Law of Gilroy helps victims who suffer dog bites figure out who is responsible and earn support to help through recovery.
We offer a free case consultation to all victims and their families. It’s a no-risk, no obligation way to learn what you may be able to demand to help pay medical bills and make up for lost time at work.
Deciding If You Need a Dog Bite Owner
Dog bite victims with serious wounds will usually benefit the most from the help of a lawyer. A serious injury will push medical costs up and up, and that triggers insurance companies for dog owners to work hard to avoid blame. They can try to blame the victims for the attack, or pass off injuries as very minor, not needing a lot of expensive care.
A skilled Gilroy Dog Bite Attorney can fight back against these tactics and secure the level of support you need to restore your life back to normal. Maison Law would fully investigate the incident and even help you identify the dog’s owner if necessary.
Then we can often help you earn much more for recovery than you could likely earn by filing a claim yourself.
A lawyer could provide a powerful advantage in a case involving these types of injuries and more:
- Deep bite wounds
- Cuts that will leave scars and disfigurement
- Broken hand bones or any other bones
- An amputation
- Any injury that will lead to a permanent physical disability
- A facial injury
- A loved one, including your child, has suffered a serious bite
- A tragic, deadly dog attack
You always have the right to file your own claim. If a dog bite only results in superficial cuts and bruising, you may not need a lawyer’s help to file a claim and earn justice.
A Free Case Review for Dog Bite Victims
You may still have questions about the strength of your case and how much you might be able to earn from a negligent dog owner. There’s an easy way to get answers.
Contact Maison Law to take advantage of a free case consultation. We want to hear from you about what happened and then go over your best options for earning the support you’ll need to make a full physical and financial recovery.
Support for Dog Bite Victims
Your attorney would go to work collecting receipts to show everything you’d spent on care up to the present day. Medical documents and doctor testimony would be used to show how long you could need support for medical care and the complications you could face in the future. Your pay stubs would be used to demonstrate what you earned in a normal month of work, and what you had lost while you couldn’t go into work.
Maison Law would create a full list of everything that an insurance company was expected to pay for and then submit it when filing your claim for you.
- Hospital and rehabilitation expenses.
- Support for a permanent physical disability and any disfigurement.
- Support for the physical pain a bite leaves behind.
- Support for the emotional distress, such as anxiety, you will likely continue to deal with. You might have PTSD symptoms at just the sight of a dog after an attack.
- Support for loss of enjoyment of life, such as having to give up hobbies and family activities due to an injury.
- Past and future lost earnings.
- The cost of travel to see medical providers and specialists in other cities.
Finding Out Who Is Responsible for a Dog Bite
In some states, owners are under a “one bite” rule. If a dog bites someone, and it’s the first time the dog has bitten someone, the owner isn’t liable. It would be the next time a dog was allowed to bite someone that the owner would be responsible. That’s not the case in California.
In our state, the concept of “strict liability” is applied to dog bite cases. It means California dog owners are automatically responsible for most bite injury incidents. They are accountable, even if the dog has no history of bites or aggression.
Victims can hold dog owners responsible for injury costs without having to prove negligence. The matter of who is to blame for a dog bite is easier to determine, leaving those healing from wounds a clear path to getting help with their recovery costs.
Two main circumstances might allow the dog owner to escape blame:
- If the dog bite victim was trespassing on private property when bitten
- If the dog bite victim has provoked the dog beforehand
The attack must also have involved a bite for strict liability to apply. That can include bites that don’t break the skin.
A dog attack that doesn’t involve a bite wound can still earn a victim compensation, but the burden of proof for those injuries will be higher. In other words, you’d have to show those non-bite injuries were indeed caused by the dog’s actions and the owner’s negligence. This might include a situation where a dog knocked a pedestrian down or chased a cyclist into traffic.
The owner isn’t automatically liable in a dog knock-down incident, but an experienced lawyer can help victims collect evidence, prove what happened, and win recovery support.
Dog Bites in Dog Parks
Dog parks, like Hecker Pass Dog Park, are set up as places where dogs can go off-leash and run out some energy. But dog owners are still responsible for the safety of others. If a dog inside a dog park bites someone, the dog owner would still usually be financially responsible.
Victims may consider filing a claim with the city or with an apartment complex that provides a dog park. Generally, these claims wouldn’t get anywhere. Dog parks are usually marked as “use at your own risk” recreational spots. The
Frequently Asked Questions
What if my child is bitten by a dog in Gilroy?
Children need extra care and support after a frightening dog attack. Their bite wounds can appear to heal, only to flare up as they grow older. Some older injuries can also cause issues with their development into adulthood during their teen years. These potential complications must be considered in any dog bite settlement. A Gilroy dog bite lawyer would demand the proper level of support for child victims for the present and for future years.
How can my family seek justice after a fatal dog attack?
A dog bite can sometimes lead to life-threatening consequences, especially for young children who have less tissue to protect against a bite. After a tragic, fatal encounter, families of victims can file wrongful death claims to hold dog owners accountable. They can also seek support for the future when they won’t be able to count on the love, support, and income a loved one would have provided. In the case of the tragic loss of life of a young victim, the parents can also receive support for the loss of companionship they’ll face in the years ahead. A Gilroy Wrongful Death Lawyer can help represent the entire family after a tragedy.
How does a dog owner provide support after a dog bite?
A claim would usually be filed against the dog owner’s homeowners insurance or renters insurance. If the dog owner had no insurance or the policy didn’t cover dog bites, a lawsuit against the owner may be necessary. The damages would hopefully be awarded in court, and the compensation would be taken from the dog owner’s assets and savings.
What if I can’t afford to pay a dog bite lawyer?
After a frightening attack, an ambulance ride, and a stay in the hospital, victims likely won’t have a lot of extra money floating around to hire a lawyer. That’s okay. Maison Law is still there for you if you need us. We don’t charge anything up front, and our fee is only paid if we win your case for you. Even then, if your case is successful, our fee comes directly out of the settlement check that an insurance company must write for you.
Contact a Gilroy Dog Bite Lawyer as Soon as Possible
After a dog bites you or a loved one, contact a local Dog Bite Injury Attorney to discuss your case. Ideally, you want to speak to a lawyer before dealing with the dog owner’s insurer. Insurance adjusters can try to record your statements and twist what you say to hurt your case later. Only give them basic information if you do talk to them.
Contact Maison Law for a free, no-obligation case evaluation. 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. We are happy to help you determine if you need a lawyer to get every bit of support you’ll need for recovery, or if you are better off handling your case yourself.
