Have you been bitten by a dog and have questions? Check out these 5 common dog bite questions that we are often asked. Then, call us today.
1. Do I have a claim if the dog owner doesn’t have insurance?
If the owner of the dog doesn’t have insurance, you could be out of luck as far as pursuing a claim. We tell people all the time, if there’s not insurance coverage in place to protect you, then unless the guy has a substantial amount of assets, you’re really not going to have an easy time getting recovery from that person. You could get a judgment against him for his negligence in caring for this dog or harboring this dog, but because it’s a negligence situation, he can always file bankruptcy to get rid of that judgment against him. If someone does have some assets, sometimes we can do some things to get you some compensation for your injuries. It’s not always what you would hope for, but it may be something. It makes it really difficult if there’s not insurance involved.
2. Does homeowners insurance cover dog bites?
Homeowner’s insurance does cover dog bite cases and if the dog owner has renter’s insurance, the renter’s insurance may cover it as well. We’ve had some situations, though, where people have a dog and the dog has bit somebody, and the insurance company then puts an exclusion in the policy for future bites of that particular dog. We’ve had that situation come up before in a really tragic case involving an English bulldog that attacked an elderly woman and there was an exclusion in the policy. It’s important to make sure that there’s coverage in place right away, when we get these claims, because we want to make sure that there’s a source to get people compensated for their pain and suffering. Many times with these dog bite cases, it’s not so much the medical treatment – because a lot of it is scar related – it’s the permanent effect of having that scarring. Sometimes tendons get severed during a bite and there may be some surgery involved, so we really want to make sure that there’s coverage available and do our investigation. Like I said, we hire investigators to go out and canvas the area and talk to people in the neighborhood about this particular dog. We want to make sure all those things are done up front.
3. What questions should I ask the dog owner after their dog bit me?
We handle dog bite cases all the time. In fact, we just got one recently. My client was all worried about what information they needed to obtain from the dog owner, and I said to them, “You need to find out – first and foremost – whether the dog is up to date on its shots.” If not, the dog needs to be tested to make sure it’s not rabid so that you don’t have to go through additional medical treatments. That’s the first thing. In cases like this, the law in New York is kind of like a one-bite rule. In bringing your claim, you have to show that the dog or other animal – it could be any kind of animal – has previously shown some type of vicious propensities by doing something similar. These cases are difficult because, especially when you’re dealing with people’s house pets, that propensity issue can be hard to prove.
With these types of cases, it’s very important to get your attorney involved early because we can do things like talk to the mailman, the UPS driver, and FedEx drivers who deliver to that house. We will ask them whether the dog has ever shown aggressive tendencies and so forth. We’ve even had cases where our investigator has gone out and videoed the dog acting violently toward others by running at the fence, growling at people and things like that. That proof can help set up these types of claims. Dog owners tend to be protective of their pets, and they don’t want to admit that, “Oh yeah, our dog bit little Johnny down the street before.” You’re not going to get that all the time, so it’s really important to get your dog bite attorney involved early and investigate as quickly as possible.
4. How do I know if I have a claim for a dog bite?
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 rabies shots and things of that nature. 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.
We had a case where we got an affidavit from a mailman that actually saved our case and talked about how this dog would go after him every time he delivered the mail. When you have those types of things, it really helps us get over the hump as far as proving the dog’s vicious nature.
5. What are typical dog bite injuries?
Typical dog bites usually depend on the person. We find with young children that they tend to get more injuries to their face. This is because they tend to place their face into the dog’s and the animal gets snippy and ends up biting the child. Some of those cases can be tragic. Some of the other injuries we see are joggers, or people around the neighborhood. They get bitten on the leg or a “defensive wound” where they are trying to fight the dog away and they get bit on the hands. Sometimes those are severe because the hand and wrist have many tendons. If a dog tears or severs a tendon, their ends up being a lot of medical treatment, and maybe even surgery.
We hope these 5 common dog bite questions helped you learn more.
Were you or a loved one attacked by an animal and have questions about dog bites and uninsured owners? Contact a Hamburg dog bite lawyer at Chiacchia and Fleming today for a free confidential consultation and case evaluation. Let our experience work for you.
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