If you or someone you know has suffered an injury as the result of a dog bite, you will know just how traumatic that experience can be. Dog bites can leave innocent people with very severe injuries and deep emotional trauma. Therefore, it is understandable that people who have suffered because of a dog bite may want to file dog bite claims. The compensation which an insurance company can pay out to victims with such an injury can help them repay any medical bills they may have had to encounter as well as compensate them for the pain and suffering they have gone through.
Contact The Law Place for a free consultation on 941-444-4444, and one of our injury lawyers will be able to give you a rough estimate of what kind of payout you may receive if you decide to file a dog bites claim. We can help lift some of the weight off your shoulders by achieving you the compensation you need due to the medical costs you may be consequently facing as a result of your injury.
How Much Will I Get?
There is no average amount of compensation that victims of dog bites claim for their personal injury. Each dog bite claim is very different, and the amount of compensation that insurance companies will pay out to victims differs greatly depending on the circumstance around the accident. The Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention have estimated that there are about 4.5 million people who are victims of dog bites every single year in the U.S. This data proves just how many and how varied each dog bite claim can be.
The factors which largely determine how much compensation you may be able to recover if you file a dog bites claim are:
- How severe the injuries are.
- The medical costs to treat the injury.
- The number of lost wages as a direct result of your injury.
- The psychological trauma related to the attack.
How Do You Settle a Dog Bite Claim?
All dog bite claims differ, but typically, a personal injury settlement of this type is usually based on what the parties and insurance involved believe a jury would award the victim if the case went to court and whether there is a strong chance that the dog owner could be held liable.
In order for insurance companies to settle in most cases, there must be an incredibly strong claim made, which would make them aware that they would likely lose the case if it went to trial. For example, in a case where a dog bite has caused an injury, if the claimant has enough evidence to prove that the owner of the dog is liable under state law, the insurers will likely settle the case.
This is made easier as Florida is a strict liability state. This simply means that an owner can be held liable for a dog bite, even if they were unaware of the aggressive nature of the animal. Additionally, the law in Florida does not require the victim to prove that their injuries were the result of the owner’s negligence.
It can be difficult trying to estimate the damages the incident has cost you. Some damages, such as medical expenses and lost wages, are easy to calculate for settlement purposes. However, calculating the cost of the pain and suffering experienced by the victim is much more difficult. This is why we advise that you seek the expertise of an injury attorney to avoid the insurance of the defendant, offering you a settlement far less than what you deserve.
The Law Place has attorneys with a wealth of experience in negotiating settlements, and we can assure you that we will do all we can to ensure that you gain the maximum possible amount you can in a settlement.
Contact us today at The Law Place in Florida if you have any further questions regarding how dog bite claims can be settled. Our legal team will happily take your call at any time of day and assist you in any way that they can.
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How Long Do I Have to Sue for a Dog Bite?
In most instances, the statute of limitations for an injury caused by a dog bite is just like any other personal injury claim. Usually, dog bite claims are filed against dog owners whose negligence in failing to restrain or supervise the dog resulted in an injury.
Florida Statue 95.11 states that you have four years after the injury happened to make a claim. Consequently, this essentially means that if you were going to file a lawsuit against the dog owner, it must be filed in the correct court within that specific statute of limitations period. If you fail to make your claim for insurance during that period, you risk never being able to claim for that injury as the case would probably be barred. Despite this, the Insurance Information Institute has reported that Florida is the state with the second-highest number of bite claims by a dog in the country in 2019 with 1,268 claims made.
If you have any further questions of queries surrounding Florida’s statute of limitations, an injury lawyer at The Law Place will happily be able to answer any questions you may have if you contact us. We can offer you a free consultation to discuss everything you would want to know and need to know if you decided to make a claim.
We’re Florida’s top litigation team with over 75 years of combined experience
What Should You Do If You Get Bitten by a Dog?
The first thing you should do if you have been bitten by a dog is to contact the police. It is important for there to be a police presence on the scene as they can make a report that can help strengthen your dog bite claim if you choose to seek compensation. The police presence can also be incredibly useful in trying to find and identify the dog owner responsible for the dog that bit you and caused your injury.
The second important thing to do if you ever suffer a dog bite is to seek medical treatment as quickly as possible. The shock of the dog bite and confusion may lead you to believe that the injuries you have suffered are not very serious. However, dog bite wounds are very susceptible to infection, and that is why it is of paramount importance that you seek medical attention immediately.
This is even more important if it is a child who has suffered the dog bite. The Insurance Information Institute (III) states that among children, dog bite injuries are at the highest rate for children between the ages of five and nine years old. The harm an infection can cause a child is far greater than an adult, so The Law Place advises that you always seek medical attention no matter how minor the injury may seem.
The third piece of advice we can give you if you have suffered a dog bite wound is to stay away from the dog owner and dog as best as you can. The dog owners may be closely acquainted with you as the Insurance Information Institute states that over half of the injuries caused by dog bites occur at home with a dog that is familiar to the victim. In this situation, we would advise that you remove yourself or the person you know has been injured to another place in the home safe from the dog and await medical attention. Furthermore, we advise that as a precaution, you move any other people exposed to the dog to safety to prevent another injury occurring.
The final piece of advice that we can give you is to contact an experienced injury attorney who can begin to investigate the incident and help build a strong claim to put to the insurance company. The compensation that you could receive would be able to compensate you for the pain and suffering you have endured, as well as any medical bills you may have faced.
From the initial call to updates on your case status, we are here to get you answers.
Call The Law Place
The Law Place has over 75 years of combined experience and has dealt with dog bite claims before. Contact us on 941-444-4444 for a free consultation if you think you may have a case worthy of making an insurance claim or have any further questions or queries regarding dog bite claims. We are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
