Are you asking yourself, “How do I find the best dog bite lawyer near me?” Suffering an injury due to a dog bite attack is deeply traumatic.
Many victims find the physical recovery from their injuries easier than the emotional effects of such a frightening experience.
You are entitled to financial compensation for your physical injuries and emotional and psychological harm.
Read on to learn more about dog bite lawsuits and what dog bite lawyers in California can do for you.
Can I Sue for a Dog Bite in California?
California is a strict liability state concerning dog bite injury claims. Under strict liability, an injured person does not have the burden to prove that the dog’s owner acted negligently to recover in a personal injury lawsuit.
If a person owns a dog and that dog bites someone, the dog owner is liable for damages even if the following factors are not present:
- The dog had bitten someone in the past,
- The owner took reasonable steps to prevent their dog from injuring someone, and
- The owner believed that their dog could be dangerous.
A person is liable for their dog when they take ownership of the animal. There are exceptions to this rule in certain circumstances, such as:
- The dog bite victim was trespassing at the time of the attack,
- The dog bite victim provoked the dog,
- The person was injured by their employer’s dog while on the job, or
- The person was performing a paid service when injured.
Can I sue for a dog bite? Lawyers for dog bite cases understand that each case presents its own facts and circumstances. Upon careful analysis of your situation, they can determine your best path forward for compensation for your injuries.
Common Dog Bite Attack Injuries
Dog bite injuries vary greatly in severity—usually depending on the type and size of the dog that attacked. According to the CDC, nearly 1 in 5 people bitten by a dog require medical attention.
Dog bite attacks commonly lead to the following injuries:
- Puncture wounds,
- Permanent scarring,
- Cuts,
- Infection,
- Disfigurement,
- Amputation,
- Fractures,
- Broken bones,
- Loss of eyes or limbs,
- Nerve damage,
- Tendon damage,
- Head trauma,
- Emotional distress, and
- Post-traumatic stress.
The severity of your injury is just one factor that significantly impacts the value of your case. If a dog bite attack resulted in disfigurement to the victim’s face, they might find moving forward with their life difficult.
In addition to permanent injuries, a victim may suffer from depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. All victims deserve to recover compensation for their injuries, whether or not they are physically apparent.
Similarly, even if a victim suffered a minor dog bite that fully healed, the person may still carry emotional distress from the experience.
Before the accident, they may have loved dogs but now find it impossible to be around them. Your attorney undertakes detailed evaluations, reviews the facts of your case, and uses this information to strengthen your claim for financial relief.
Despite the range in severity of dog bite injuries, almost all injured victims come away from a dog bite attack emotionally traumatized by their experience.
What Can I Recover in a Lawsuit for a Dog Bite Injury?
After a dog bite attack, California law permits you to recover compensatory damages in a lawsuit for a dog bite injury in the form of economic and non-economic damages.
Compensatory damages intend to put a victim in the same position before their accident. For many, this seems an impossible feat.
For example, no amount of money could replace a permanent change to your physical appearance or a loss of a limb.
Despite this, many of those injured in these accidents find that financial compensation provides the needed support to help them and their family move forward.
Economic damages represent direct financial losses stemming from your injury and include the following losses:
- Medical costs and future medical expenses,
- Lost wages,
- Loss of future earnings, and
- Property damage reimbursement.
With documentation supporting these losses, your attorney strengthens your claim for these financial losses.
Non-economic damages represent the psychological effects of an attack.
Due to their subjective nature, non-economic damages are difficult to prove and include the following:
- Pain and suffering,
- Emotional distress,
- Permanent disability or disfigurement,
- Loss of enjoyment of life, and
- Loss of consortium.
The compensation you may receive depends on multiple factors relating to your case. Upon review, lawyers for dog bite cases determine a value for your case that guides your expectations and settlement negotiations.
How Can Dog Bite Lawyers in California Help Me?
It’s vital to speak with a dog bite lawyer after your accident so they can begin taking action on your case.
Understanding the complex area of dog bite law in California without an experienced attorney could mean losing the financial support you deserve.
Your dog bite lawyers in California get to work for you by collecting evidence, obtaining police reports, and evaluating medical reports to calculate the value of your lawsuit.
Additionally, they utilize their skills in negotiation to work for a favorable settlement from the dog owner. If negotiations between the parties fail, your attorney is prepared to litigate your case at trial.
Throughout these various stages, your attorney works to keep you informed of your legal rights and potential recovery options as soon as possible.
Searching for Lawyers for Dog Bite Cases? Contact Us
At the Weinberg Law Offices, we work tirelessly to ensure that you receive the compensation you are entitled to.
Our lawyers for dog bite cases communicate with you throughout the entire process to ensure you know your case’s status.
We also make sure that the party at fault for your injury is aware that we are skilled in litigating. While most personal injury cases settle, we understand this may not always be possible and are fully prepared to take your case to trial.
We offer free initial consultations and take cases on a contingency basis. While you focus on your recovery, we get to work for you.
You deserve to have your financial stresses eased by the party responsible for causing them. We are here to protect your rights and pursue justice on your behalf.
Contact us today to learn how the Weinberg Law Offices can help you.
As a personal injury attorney, my mantra is that there is no such thing as a “small case”. I will give 100% matter how big or small a case may be. I am fluent in English, Hebrew, and Spanish, languages which I use regularly in my practice.
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