Maison Law represents California dog bite victims. Our California Dog Bite Lawyers assist victims in getting the support they need to make a full recovery.
If your accident happened at a family member’s home or at a party thrown by a friend, you should 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.
Do I Need a Lawyer After Suffering a Dog Bite at a Party?
If you suffer a serious injury caused by a dog encountered at a party, you should speak to a California dog bite lawyer. When a dog attack involves broken bones, soft tissue damage, or worse, the medical bills can go far beyond what the average person can pay. A family member or a friend who hosted the party may have the best intentions of helping you in recovery, but their insurance company may be more focused on trying to avoid accepting blame for what happened.
A lawyer protects you from insurance tactics meant to limit the support you receive. A Maison Law legal representative fights to maximize your injury claim so that you don’t have to worry about how you’ll pay your doctor bills and support your family during recovery.
Who Is Responsible If a Dog Bites Me at a Party?
Being invited over to a family gathering or a friend’s party can make for a fun time. Unfortunately, any time you are in someone’s house or yard, there are hazards that can leave you vulnerable to injury.
One of those hazards is a dog that might also be wandering around a home. The dog can become confused with so many people around or feel threatened and accidentally snap at a guest. A dog with a history of biting may also be negligently allowed to wander among the crowd and bite an adult or a child.
Fortunately, in California, dog owners are usually held liable for the consequences of a bite, no matter where they happened. This means victims can usually ask for help with the costs of a trip to an emergency room and beyond.
California follows the concept of “strict liability” when it comes to dog bite injuries. State law holds dog owners accountable when their dogs bite someone, even if the dog has never shown aggression before.
The dog owner could be financially responsible for the cost of injuries as long as a few things were true:
- The victim wasn’t trespassing at the time. If you are at a party, there should be no question that you were invited in.
- The victim didn’t provoke the dog.
- The victim suffered an actual bite. A bite counts even if it doesn’t break the skin. If a dog attack doesn’t involve a bite, strict liability wouldn’t apply, but other personal injury laws would.
Your California 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.
Should I File a Dog Bite Injury Claim Against a Family Member or Friend?
You may feel conflicted about filing an injury claim against someone you know, like a family member or friend who throws a party. But you shouldn’t look at it as a direct claim against your friend or relative. You would usually be filing a claim with the dog owner’s homeowners or renter’s 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 California dog bite attorney can help you hold an insurance company fully accountable for the hardships you suffer while healing from a dog bite.
Compensation Available After a Dog Bite at a Party
Dog bite victims can suffer broken bones, have fingers severed, and even endure internal organ damage. These injuries can have long-lasting effects on victims and their families.
Victims must seek help in paying for the best medical care available. They can also seek compensation for the emotional trauma they endure. Patients could suffer anxiety, panic attacks, and depression during a difficult recovery and beyond. They could also experience PTSD symptoms stemming from a frightening dog encounter.
Your lawyer will demand help with these factors and for some things you may not have known could earn you additional support:
- Hospital and rehabilitation expenses
- Lifelong support for a long-term disability or a disfigurement
- Travel costs to and from doctor visits
- Support for physical pain
- Support for emotional distress
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Past and future lost earnings
- Damage or destruction of property
- Wrongful death benefits
Families who lose a loved one in a dog attack can file a wrongful death claim. This claim seeks help for the family in paying burial costs and remaining medical invoices. Close relatives, like a spouse or children, who relied on the financial support of the victim would also earn support for the future. The support would help replace the income the deceased can no longer provide in the years to come.
Contact a California Dog Bite Lawyer
California law allows dog bite victims up to two years from the date of the accident to file an injury claim. You shouldn’t delay when looking into filing a case. It’s easier to collect evidence and track down witnesses in the early going.
After you or a loved one has suffered a serious dog bite, contact a California 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 our 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.
