San Jose is a busy place, but people still make time to walk their dogs and enjoy the sunshine. Dogs play a big role in many local families’ lives and San Jose is definitely a dog-friendly town. However, it’s always a dog owner’s responsibility to protect others from their pets.
A dog can bite out of confusion or when it feels threatened and victims can easily suffer long-term injuries. In California, bite victims have legal protections and dog owners are generally held fully responsible for medical care needed after a scary incident.
A Free Consultation for All San Jose Bite Victims
After getting bitten by a dog, victims will have a lot to worry about. They’ll likely be trying to keep doctor’s appointments and physical therapy sessions all while wondering when the bills will come due.
It may be several weeks before victims finally get a chance to stop to consider if a dog owner can be asked for help with these hardships and others.
This question is too important to leave unanswered. The best way to secure answers to those questions and more is to talk to a real San Jose Dog Bite Lawyer in a free consultation session. Find out what you’ll need to demand in an insurance claim over your bite injury. You’ll also get informed on some important details you should know before facing off with an insurance adjuster.
Who Is Responsible After a Dog Bite in San Jose?
In many states, a dog has to have shown aggressive tendencies before biting you to hold the dog’s owner accountable. 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 responsible for bite injury support under most circumstances. This is true even if their dogs have never bitten someone before.
Victims and their San Jose dog bite lawyers are obligated to prove that two factors are true to enforce California dog bite liability:
- The owner can be held liable if the attack occurred in a public place or on private property if the victim was invited onto the property.
- The victim must not have provoked the dog.
The attack must have involved a bite as well. 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.
Who Pays Over a Dog Bite Claim?
If an owner is negligent, a claim for damages is filed against the owner’s homeowner’s insurance in some cases. If the owner carries renter’s insurance some policies cover the victims of dog bites. These policies are often called upon when a victim is bitten in someone’s home.
In some cases, homeowner’s insurance won’t cover dog bite accidents. The owner’s own savings and assets would be used to provide the victim with support in this case.
It’s also possible a landlord or apartment complex could bear some liability in a dog bite incident. A dog may have been deemed a problem or dangerous and yet a property owner or rental management company may have delayed doing anything about it. In some cases, they could be proven responsible for the victim’s safety.
A business that caters to dogs or an event that includes dogs could be the site of your bite incident. This could leave the owner of the business or the event organizers liable.
San Jose Dog Park Bite Accident Liability
A trip to Hart’s Dog Park or Cannery Park to get your pup some exercise might also leave you at risk of a bite. Those parks are generally “use as your own risk” locations. City recreation departments and apartment complexes aren’t usually liable if you are bitten at a dog park.
The dog owner is still responsible for incidents at dog parks. It’s important to get that dog owner’s contact information before they leave the park.
What to Do After a Dog Bite in San Jose?
Insurance companies don’t get high marks for treating victims fairly. They often leave victims to wait for months before letting them know if they’ll even accept their claim and provide fair support.
The more evidence you can gather on the day of your accident, the more pressure you can put on an insurance company to accept blame.
If physically possible, secure these concrete details from the scene of your bite incident:
If you are able to move around, try to gather these details on the scene of a Modesto dog bite:
- See to your wellbeing first. Call for paramedics for anything other than a very minor scratch. Get checked out and go to the emergency room if necessary. Ask a friend or helpful witness to collect evidence on the scene if you have to leave.
- Take pictures. Get photos of the dog and owner if possible. Show your bite wound and show any damage to your clothing or personal property.
- Exchange information with the dog owner. Don’t accept fault for what happened or state that you’re not injured. These statements may not be true, but an insurance company can twist these comments later to weaken your case against them.
- Discuss what witnesses observed and get their contact information to provide to your San Jose Dog Bite Attorney.
- Schedule an appointment with your physician. Do everything your doctor recommends, including seeing a physical therapist. Keep all appointments and save your medical invoices.
- Keep all ripped, punctured, or bloody clothing. Don’t wash your clothes or shoes. Seal all evidence in bags. Keep all damaged personal property.
Compensation You Should Expect After a Dog Bite
Once your case is supported by strong evidence and testimony, it’ll be time to file your claim.
At this point, you must list every hardship you’ve endured since receiving your bite wound. Your personal injury lawyer will include every economic and non-economic damage you’ve suffered. This includes some factors you may not have considered.
- Hospital and rehabilitation expenses.
- Past and future lost earnings.
- Physical pain.
- Emotional distress, such as anxiety. You might have PTSD symptoms at just the site of a dog after an attack.
- Loss of enjoyment of life. The inability to participate in hobbies, travel, and other family activities due to an injury.
- Loss of consortium. An injury may affect the intimacy you share with family members, especially a spouse.
- Damage or destruction of property.
Unfortunately, a permanent disability or disfigurement can be the toll of a severe bite wound. You may lose a limb, lose your mobility, lose the use of an eye, or face some other long-term effect.
This only increases the amount of support you should be demanding. Enough to support you and your family over a lifetime. That includes all medical costs and equipment associated with your years of care ahead. The expenses of upgrades needed at your home to provide you with personal freedom should be included.
You may never be able to return to your previous job again. Money for college courses or career training for a job change will factor into any settlement.
What If My Child is the Victim of a Dog Bite?
Dogs and children usually share a few things in common. They both have a lot of energy. They are also curious about everything around them. A well-meaning child may try to pet a dog that misinterprets the action and a devastating bite could occur.
Child dog bite cases usually require San Jose personal injury lawyers to seek more in compensation for their clients. Children are in a continual state of development and a serious injury can affect the child’s development now and years down the road.
Those potential negative consequences must be estimated with the help of the best medical experts. The child should never grow up to face additional harm from a dog bite that happened years ago. Children and their parents must have the support they need for however long they need it.
Contact a Personal Injury Lawyer Serving San Jose Dog Bite Victims
After you or a loved one has suffered a serious dog bite, reach out to a San Jose Dog Bite Injury Lawyer to go over your case.
Attorney Martin Gasparian, the founder of Maison Law, offers a free and confidential case evaluation. He wants to hear about what happened and then help you determine the best path to getting the support your family needs.
Consult with an attorney as soon as possible after a dog bite. There are benefits available to you and your family that insurance companies won’t be informing you of.
