When a dog bites you or a family member, there may be a million questions running through your mind. First and foremost is probably about what you’re going to do now. Here is what you need to know.
When a Dog Bites | Sue the Liable Party
If you were injured or a family member was injured by any animal, you can sue the person who has, or should have had, control over the animal. A dog owner is required to control/restrain his or her animal in order to ensure public safety. The dog owner may be held responsible if you are on public property or if you are legally on private property.
Dog owners may be held accountable for injuries sustained by their animals if the animal was not properly secured on their premises, (under premises law) on a leash, or if the owner knew that the animal was prone to violence.
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When a Dog Bites | Report It and Ask Questions
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.
If you want to know more about what to do when a dog bites you or someone you love, please call our Hamburg dog bite injury lawyers today to get a free case evaluation.