A visit to a friend’s home or a drop-in at a family gathering can be a great time. But if there’s a dog at your loved one’s home, you could be vulnerable to a dog bite. If you or your child are bitten, you can seek help with medical bills from the dog owner’s insurance provider.
Maison Law represents Madera dog bite victims. Our Dog Bite Lawyers assist victims in getting the support they need to make a full recovery. 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 insurance companies fully responsible.
Who Is Responsible If a Dog Bites Me at a Friend’s House?
Dog owners can be held accountable when their dogs bite victims. The legal concept of “strict liability” would help victims seek support for recovery from a wound through a personal injury claim. Strict liability means the dog owner is almost always financially responsible for a bite. It’s true, even if it’s the first time the dog has shown aggression.
This would mean a dog owner hosting a family get-together or a host throwing a house party would be responsible for protecting guests from a dog. It would be the dog owner’s duty to protect the dog from confrontations as well. Perhaps putting the dog outside in a fenced yard or locking the dog away in its own room.
Friendly dogs can become defensive when they have new people coming into their homes. They can become frightened or confused by crowds. A gathering that includes small children may leave the dog feeling vulnerable to a child’s curiosity and lack of good judgment.
If a dog did manage to bite a guest, the pet owner’s homeowners insurance provider would often be liable for the victim’s medical bills and lost time at work.
The dog owner could be financially responsible for the costs of recovery as long as a few things were true:
- The victim wasn’t trespassing at the time. If the victim was invited in, this shouldn’t be an issue.
- The victim didn’t provoke the dog. This may not apply to children because they usually aren’t considered to have the mental capacity to act appropriately around a dog. The dog owner would still be liable.
Your Madera dog bite lawyer would be collecting evidence so that the fault in the bite incident would be clear. Insurance companies can try to shift blame in a dog bite accident so they can get away with providing less in support or none at all. A strong case backed with evidence helps hold an insurer fully responsible for your damages.
Is It Okay to File a Dog Bite Injury Claim Against Someone I Know?
You may find you have mixed emotions about filing a claim against a family member or friend. But you shouldn’t feel as if you are directly targeting a close acquaintance. You would usually be filing a claim with the dog owner’s homeowners or renters’ insurance provider. Any support provided would come from the insurer.
The dog owner will likely want to make sure victims have what they need to pay for a doctor’s visit, surgeries, and even physical therapy if necessary. It’s one of the reasons the dog owner pays insurance premiums. Your skilled Madera County dog bite attorney can help you hold an insurance company fully accountable for the hardships you suffer while healing from a dog bite.
What Can I Ask for In a Dog Bite Injury Claim?
You can seek full support for all of the medical bills that have been dropped in your lap since the day of the bite incident. This would include future costs for any care that’s expected to be needed in the years ahead. A bite that caused you to suffer a permanent disability or disfigurement may need to cover a lifetime of care.
If a child is the victim, additional financial support should be awarded. Children can suffer complications from a broken bone or tissue damage years later as they mature into adulthood. They may require additional surgeries and physical therapy if a dog bite injury returns or affects development.
A dog bite settlement check should also cover all income and benefits you’ve lost while having to miss work. If you can no longer return to your old job due to a disability, money to support your family and to help you find a new career should be included.
Victims can also seek support for the physical pain they suffer and the emotional toll a dog attack takes on their lives. This can include PTSD symptoms from the moment of a bite and help to overcome a fear of all dogs.
Contact a Madera Dog Bite Lawyer
After you or a loved one has suffered a serious dog bite, schedule a case consultation with a real Madera Dog Bite Lawyer to discuss your case, free of charge. It’s a no-risk opportunity to find out about all the benefits available to you and how to hold an insurance company fully responsible.
You won’t need any upfront money if you decide we can help you earn the most for your dog bite wound and recovery. We don’t get paid unless we win your case for you. Then our fee comes out of the insurance settlement check you receive.
