If you have been seriously hurt in a dog attack, you may be in search for basic dog bite case info that you can use to start your claim. Here is what you need to know before calling our attorneys.
Basic Dog Bite Case Info | What Should I Do After I Get Bit?
We have many situations where people are bit by dogs and the first thing you have to find out is whether that dog had its rabies shots. You have to identify who the owner is. You want to report it to the local police agency, or if they have a dog control person, report it to them. They can verify whether or not this dog had its shots. If it didn’t, you might be in a situation where they have to quarantine the dog and test it to make sure that you don’t need to get sick.
Beyond that, if it is a serious dog bite situation, the dog bite laws in New York are a little different than some other areas or some other states in that we have to show that the dog had some type of vicious propensity to act in the way it did before your actual incident. We like to get people out canvasing the areas, talking to neighbors, mailmen, UPS drivers, FedEx drivers, etc. People are in that neighborhood all the time that may have had contact with this dog that may be able to shed light on whether or not this dog has some vicious propensities in the past.
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Basic Dog Bite Case Info | How Do You Determine a Good Dog Bite Case?
A viable dog bite case is one in which it is possible to prove that the dog has demonstrated at least some vicious propensities. It’s even more helpful if the dog also looks vicious. That visual image tends to help the bite victim’s case. I believe it has much more jury appeal when, instead of a little toy poodle that rips into someone’s face, the dog involved is a Rottweiler or a pit bull.
When it comes to setting up the liability for your case, it’s important to be able to show that you, as the client, did nothing wrong that could have caused that dog to act the way it did. In other words, you were just minding your own business, or you just reached down to pet the dog, and the dog attacked you. Showing those two things – the dog’s propensity for viciousness and that you didn’t do anything wrong – are a couple of important factors that we look for when going forward with a dog bite case.
Basic Dog Bite Case Info | Is There a Minimum Amount of Medical Bills to File an Injury Claim?
One of the questions I very frequently hear from injured people who are considering bringing a lawsuit concerns whether or not doing so requires that they incur a minimum amount of bills for their medical treatment. The answer to that, very simply, is no. When you are injured in a dog attack, your medical treatment becomes very relevant to a potential lawsuit, particularly with regard to the damages for which you might be making a claim. They will be included in a potential lawsuit as part of those damages.
However, outside of some very limited circumstances – such as, for instance, in the case of a motor vehicle accident where you have an extraordinary amount of medical bills, out-of-pocket costs, or lost wages that exceed a certain minimum – those bills are just damages that you would include in your personal injury case. That total may be relevant to how much your case is worth, but it certainly does not prohibit you from contemplating a lawsuit to advance your claim simply because your medical bills haven’t yet reached a certain number.
If you need a strong, dependable Hamburg dog bite attorney, please call our office today to set up a free case evaluation.