Were you recently injured by a neighborhood dog and are wondering what to do after a dog bite accident? Whether it was the pet of a close friend or a stray animal that got loose, our experienced Hamburg dog bite lawyers are here to help you retrieve full compensation.
Get Medical Treatment and Report the Accident
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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What to Do After a Dog Bite Accident | Does a ‘Beware of Dog’ Sign Matter?
Owners of dogs also have a duty to warn people that are coming on their property if they have a dog that has some vicious propensities. Sometimes you see these “Beware of Dog” signs, and it could affect your case to some extent because you’re on notice that that dog may be a little violent or vicious, so you should exercise more caution yourself. That can be used against you. There’s a thing in the law called comparative fault, where it’s not only the negligence of the person who has the dog, but the negligence of the person that was bit. We see it sometimes with younger kids when they do things to aggravate the dog or get the dog to respond in a vicious nature toward them. That’s used against you.
The same thing with the “Beware of Dog” sign: you have some knowledge that something’s up with this dog, so you have to exercise more care around the dog and maybe not even enter the property. If you’re a delivery person or somebody like that, you’re on notice; maybe you need to get another way to communicate with the owner of the house.
What to Do After a Dog Bite Accident | Hire an Attorney
If you have serious injuries as the result of a dog bite please contact our experienced Hamburg dog bite lawyers today. We offer a free case evaluation and would be happy to go over the details of your case and explain your rights.