If you or someone you know has been bitten by a dog and suffered from bite injuries, you have the right to sue the dog owner for the consequential medical bills you may have had to face.
We recommend that if your dog bite injuries have resulted in a stack of medical bills and lost you a significant amount of money, that it is in your best interest to file a lawsuit. A dog bite lawyer at The Law Place will be able to give you all the legal advice and guidance you may be seeking. It can seem daunting filing a lawsuit for a dog bite injury, but our law firm has over 75 years of combined experience in dealing with personal injury cases. Therefore, you can be reassured that you are in the most capable legal hands in Florida.
If you have any questions concerning whether you can sue for a dog bite, you can contact a dog bite lawyer at The Law Place today. Our accident lawyers have a wealth of experience in dealing with cases similar to yours and will be able to give you all the legal advice you may be seeking. Call us today for a free consultation at (941) 444-4444.
What Should I Do If I’m Bitten by a Dog?
If you have suffered a dog bite, the first thing you should do is contact the police. Having a police presence at the scene where the dog bite occurred can be incredibly beneficial as not only will they be able to report the incident, but they can also help identify the dog owner responsible for the dog. If you do decide to claim for your dog bite injuries, a police report can massively strengthen your claim for compensation.
The other really important thing to do if you have suffered dog bite injuries is to seek medical attention immediately. Sometimes, when a person suffers a dog bite, the shock will often lead a person to believe that their injuries are not very serious. However, a dog bite injury is highly susceptible to infection, so it is paramount that you seek medical attention as quickly as possible. This is of even greater importance if it a child who has been the victim of the dog bite. The Insurance Information Institute (III) has reported that among children, children between the ages of five and nine years old suffer from dog bites at the highest rate. The infections that dog bites can cause children are very harmful; that is why we advise that you always seek medical attention. A dog bite lawyer at The Law Place may be able to help you recover the consequential medical bills.
We would also advise that you stay as far away from the dog owner as you possibly can. The dog owner may be an acquaintance of yours, as it is known that over half of dog bite injuries occur in a home of which the victim is familiar with. Regardless of whether you know the owner, we suggest that you move away to safety and try and contact animal control.
How Much Money Can You Get From a Dog Bite Lawsuit?
If you have or someone you know has been bitten by a dog, you will be aware of just how traumatic the experience can be. It is therefore massively understandable that a victim of a dog bite would consider filing a lawsuit for their injury. The compensation of which an insurance company can payout to victims can massively help with any medical expenses they have had to face.
All dog bite lawsuits vary greatly, and therefore it is difficult to say how much money you could recover from a dog bite lawsuit. The amount you could recover depends on the circumstances surrounding your dog bite injury.
It is important to understand how Florida’s comparative negligence rule works, as this may impact how much you could get from an insurance company or dog owner in a dog bite lawsuit. For example, if you accidentally aggravate your friend’s dog and you suffer a dog bite injury, a court will decide how responsible you are for the injury. The court may agree that you are 40 percent responsible for the dog bite, and the dog owner, your friend, is 60 percent responsible and that your damages equate to $1,000. Under the law in Florida, this would mean that you would lose 40 percent of those damages as that was the amount of responsibility assigned to you. Therefore, you would receive a total of $600.
If you contact a personal injury lawyer at The Law Place to schedule your free consultation, an accident lawyer may be able to use their previous experience to give you an estimation of how much money they may be able to recover for your dog bite injury if you decide to file a lawsuit. An attorney-client relationship at The Law Place is one of immense commitment and confidentiality. You can be assured that with one of our personal injury lawyers, you are in the most capable legal hands in Florida.
If you have any further questions of queries concerning how much money you could receive following a dog bite lawsuit, don’t hesitate to contact The Law Place today for a chance to talk to one of our dog bite lawyers.
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How Long Do You Have to Sue for a Dog Bite?
Often, the statue for limitations for an injury caused by a dog bite is the same as any other personal injury claim. It is usually the owner of the dog who is sued following a dog bite incident for their negligence.
Florida Statues 95.11 states that you currently have four years after suffering an injury to make a claim. Therefore, if you were planning on filing a lawsuit against the owner of the dog, it must be filed within this time, or you risk never being able to file a claim. After four years, your case is likely to be barred. This is why it is incredibly important that you act quickly if you have suffered a dog bite and are planning on claiming for your injuries.
A lawyer at The Law Place will be able to help you file a claim and guide you through the whole legal process. We strive to achieve the best for our clients, and an attorney-client relationship at The Law Place is one of great commitment and confidentiality.
If you have any further questions of queries concerning Florida’s statute of limitations or how long you have to claim for a dog bite, don’t hesitate to contact our law firm today.
We’re Florida’s top litigation team with over 75 years of combined experience
What Kind of Lawyer Do You Need for a Dog Bite?
At least 98% of all bodily injury cases are settled outside of the courtroom, without a trial. It is, therefore, important that you hire an experienced dog bite lawyer to handle your case efficiently and quickly.
An experienced lawyer will be able to investigate your dog bite incident to help build your case. They will recover copies of medical billings and evidence, hire a photographer to take photos of the injury, hire a private investigator to discover the history of the dog, and get a nurse to review all of the medical evidence. You must seek a lawyer with experience in dealing with cases similar to yours to ensure that your case is as strong as it possibly can be. Therefore, when your claim is put to the insurance company, they will have little choice but to agree to a fair settlement.
By hiring a personal injury attorney soon after suffering a dog bite, it will enable the insurance company to make a more accurate estimation of the amount of compensation you are entitled to. An experienced lawyer will ensure that a proper evaluation of the incident is done, which will make it much easier to settle your case.
Hiring a lawyer with minimal experience could mean that they miss crucial evidence and pass along wrong information that could be hugely detrimental to your claim. It could make the settlement process much longer and more difficult than it needs to be.
If you have any further questions of queries concerning what type of lawyer you need, if you have suffered a dog bite, don’t hesitate to contact us today. Our lawyers are highly experienced and will be able to help you in any way they can. We pride ourselves at The Law Place for having strong attorney-client relationships. Call us today for a free consultation on 941-444-4444.
From the initial call to updates on your case status, we are here to get you answers.
Can a Dog Groomer Sue You If Your Dog Bites Them?
Usually, if your dog bites someone or hurts someone, you would be responsible as the owner of the dog. A groomer may, therefore, try and sue you to seek compensation for their medical expenses. The dog bite statute in Florida, Statute 767.04, states that as the owner of a dog, you are responsible if the dog bites another person in a public or lawfully private place. However, you can avoid legal responsibility if the victim was at fault and caused the incident to occur.
Depending on the specific circumstances surrounding the incident, you may be able to fight back against the claim by arguing that the groomer did any of the following:
- Provoked the dog.
- Voluntarily risked being hurt.
- Contributed to the accident occurring by their unreasonable carelessness.
You can also raise your defense by arguing about comparative negligence in Florida. This essentially means that if the victim is partially to blame for the injury, the damages they would be able to receive would be reduced by a percentage that equates to their percentage of their blame for the incident.
Call The Law Place Today
If you have any further questions concerning whether you would be to blame if your dog bites another person, contact The Law Place today. One of our experienced lawyers will be able to give you all the legal guidance and help you may be seeking. Call us today for a free consultation on (941) 444-4444.
