Maison Law represents California dog bite victims. Victims who suffer bites at Visalia dog parks can ask dog owners for financial help during recovery. Our dog bite lawyers can help victims secure the most available for their injuries.
If you or a loved one have been bitten, please 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 dog owners and insurance companies fully responsible.
Dog Park Bite Dangers in Visalia
Dog parks are a great place for dogs and people to enjoy some fresh air. Dogs usually love the freedom, but they can also become confused, frightened, or feel threatened and react with a painful bite. Human visitors can be the target of these bites or they may just be a bystander and get in between two dogs playing too rough.
The risks are present at any Visalia park, but people are usually in closer contact with dogs while enclosed in a dog park at a city park or an apartment complex.
Dog bites are always a danger at these and other Visalia dog parks:
- Cody Kelly Dog Bark Park
- Plaza Park Bark Park
- Seven Oaks Dog Park
Victims of all ages can endure painful bite-force injuries to their hands. Bones can be fractured. Delicate skin on arms or even the face might be left with a permanent disfigurement. Patients and their families will want the best medical care available, but they may be stressed out wondering how they’ll pay for that care.
Who Is Liable After a Bite Wound at a Dog Park?
Dog bite victims will be happy to know that dog owners are held responsible when their pets bite someone. That accountability extends to bites that occur in dog parks.
California is a “strict liability” dog bite state. It means that dog owners are generally held financially responsible for the consequences of a dog bite. That’s true even if it’s the first time the dog has bitten someone.
Victims can file injury claims against the dog owner’s homeowners insurance or renter’s insurance in most cases. However, these are a few factors that might get the dog owner off the hook:
- The victim can’t have provoked the dog.
- Victims can’t have been trespassing on the dog owner’s property at the time. This generally wouldn’t affect liability in a dog park bite incident. The dog park would usually be considered a public place.
- The accident must involve an actual bite. A bite must have happened for “strict liability” laws to apply. A wound that didn’t break the skin would still count as a bite. Dog owners can be held responsible for other types of injuries caused by dogs, such as when a victim is knocked down, but different personal injury laws would apply.
Dog owners are usually found at fault, but victims can still have questions. Fortunately, there’s no risk in discussing your case with a skilled Visalia Dog Bite Lawyer. It’s a way to find out if you have a case and what you should be demanding in support from an insurance company.
Dog Park Owners and Operator’s Liability
Victims can certainly hold a dog owner accountable under most circumstances. Yet, victims are right to wonder if the City of Visalia, responsible for running public parks and dog parks, could be held liable.
In most cases, the city wouldn’t be liable because dog parks are posted as “use at your own risk” locations.
But this legal protection applies only to normal and expected risks at a dog park. If there was an out-of-the-ordinary hazard left unrepaired at a dog park, the city could be liable due to negligence. A hole in a dog park fence could let dogs out to bite those outside the park. This might leave a city department accountable. Your California dog bite attorney would be crucial in helping you determine every party that could be held liable.
The same possibilities would apply to a private dog park in a residential area like an apartment complex. A dog bite would likely only be a dog owner’s responsibility, but other factors could leave a property management company liable or a landlord liable.
How Much Is My Dog Bite Injury Worth?
It’s impossible to get an accurate estimate on how much you may receive in a dog bite settlement check until you alert a lawyer about your injury. Your dog bite attorney will need to hear about what happened to you. Evidence will need to be collected and witnesses will have to testify to what they saw.
It’s also true that every wound heals differently and your healing time will differ from any other victim. Your lawyer would need to see your medical charts and speak to medical experts to find out how long you could be down with a dog bite wound.
Dog bites often take longer to heal than normal wounds. Those frightening teeth can break bones, and damage ligaments and tendons. Dog teeth also carry bacteria that can cause infections and make recovery even more difficult. Victims could need weeks of physical therapy just to be able to regain control of their hands or feet.
All of these and other factors would be considered when deciding how much you should receive in a settlement:
- Medical care bills now and any received in the future. Surgeries could be necessary years down the road.
- Additional support for the future of children who suffer dog bite injuries. Children may receive a bite wound and seemingly heal. But that same wound can cause issues in the years ahead. As children reach their teen years, their development may be affected by an old injury and surgery could be necessary to allow victims to mature properly.
- Physical therapy costs. Rehabilitation may be needed so the victim can restore the function of a hand or fingers.
- Full financial support for a permanent physical disability and permanent disfigurement suffered by victims.
- Reimbursement of lost benefits and income.
- Travel costs for appointments with doctors and surgeons. These bills may be substantial if a victim has injuries that prevent driving.
- Additional compensation for physical pain and emotional trauma experienced. Dog bite victims can suffer anxiety and PTSD symptoms after a frightening attack. Depression may follow a severe injury that limits the patient’s enjoyment of life.
Contact a Visalia 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 at a dog park, contact a Visalia 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. If you hire us, we don’t get paid unless we win your case for you. Then our fee comes out of the insurance settlement check you receive.
