Roseville Dog Bite Attorney
At Rosenthal Law, our team is standing by to help if you need a Roseville dog bite attorney. We understand the complexities involved in these claims, but we also understand dog bite laws in California. Let us get to work recovering the compensation you need today.
Why Should I Hire a Roseville Dog Bite Attorney?
At Rosenthal Law, our team has been trusted to help injury victims secure compensation for more than 25 years. We understand what it takes to stand up to aggressive insurance carriers after a dog bite incident occurs, and we have the resources needed to fully investigate what happened.
Dog bite claims can be incredibly challenging, particularly when going up against aggressive homeowners’ insurance carriers or legal teams. Even though there are strict dog bite laws in this state, these other parties may try to shift some of the blame to try and get out of paying fair compensation.
When you work with an experienced Roseville personal injury lawyer, you will have an advocate ready to investigate the incident and work with trusted medical and economic experts to adequately calculate your losses.
What Damages Can I Recover for my Dog Bite Injury?
There may be various types of compensation available for dog bite injury victims in Roseville. Some of the types of compensation available in these situations include coverage of:
- Medical bills
- Lost wages
- Property damage expenses
- Pain and suffering damages
How Long Do I Have to File a Dog Bite Claim in California?
Individuals in California have two years from the date an injury occurs to file a civil lawsuit against an alleged negligent dog owner. However, since most of these claims are handled through insurance carriers, it is important to file the claim as soon as possible. Any delay in filing a claim with an insurance carrier could lead to a denial of compensation.
Who Can Be Held Liable for a Dog Bite?
In almost all situations, the owner of the dog will be held responsible for paying compensation to a dog bite victim. Even if another person had control of the dog at the time the incident occurred, the actual owner of the dog will be the one financially liable for paying compensation to the injury victim.
Injuries Associated with Dog Bites
Unfortunately, the injuries associated with dog bite incidents often lead to significant setbacks and long-term scarring and disabilities. Dogs have powerful jaws, and their teeth can puncture deep within the skin. This could lead to injuries such as:
- Puncture wounds or lacerations
- Injured arteries, veins, ligaments, muscles, and nerves
- Partial or complete amputations of fingers or extremities
In addition to these common injuries, a dog bite injury is also prone to infection. In many cases, even a relatively minor dog bite incident can lead to serious long-term complications if infection sets in. It is crucial for individuals to seek prompt medical care, even if a dog bite injury does not seem too severe. Ignoring any type of injury caused by an animal could lead to the injury becoming much worse than it would actually be otherwise.
According to information available from the UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, children make up more than 50% of all dog bite victims. Children have closer proximity to a dog’s mouth, and this often leads to more significant injuries to the head, face, and neck area.
Emotional and Psychological Trauma
In addition to the physical injuries individuals sustained as a result of a dog bite injury, our Roseville dog bite attorneys also focus on the unseen injuries individuals experience. This can include individuals experiencing prolonged feelings of fear, stress, anxiety, depression, and even symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The entire experience of being attacked by a dog, receiving medical treatment, and dealing with any scarring, disfigurement, or loss of quality of life is incredibly challenging. Our attorneys keep in mind both the physical injuries and the unseen emotional and psychological trauma as we work to adequately calculate how much compensation a client should receive.
California Dog Bite Laws
California is one of the states that uses a strict liability system concerning dog bite incidents. Per California Civil Code § 3342, a dog’s owner will be held strictly liable for any injuries caused by their dog biting someone else, even if the dog has never bitten anybody before or shown a propensity for aggression. So long as the bite victim was on public property or lawfully on private property when the attack occurred, the dog’s owner is responsible for paying compensation. It does not matter whether or not the dog has ever bitten anybody before or if the dog has a propensity for aggression. Even if this is the first time the dog has ever bitten anybody, the owner will be responsible for paying the victim’s medical expenses. It is not necessary to prove that the dog owner was negligent in allowing the incident to occur.
Strict liability dog bite laws only apply to the dog’s owner and not any other individual who may have had control of the dog at the time the incident occurred. For example, even if a dog walker had control over the pet at the time the bite occurred, the owner of the dog will be responsible for paying medical expenses, not the dog walker.
Individuals can typically not recover non-economic damages such as pain and suffering damages unless they can prove that the dog owner’s negligence directly led to the dog bite. A dog owner could be negligent by failing to properly restrain their pet, knowingly allowing a dangerous dog around other individuals or pets, etc. Recovering pain and suffering or any other non-economic damages after a dog bite is not impossible through the strict liability dog bite law. Individuals will have to file a civil personal injury lawsuit against the dog owner, and they will have to prove that the owner was negligent in some way.
Proving Your Dog Bite Case in California
Proving a dog bite injury case in Roseville, California, can be challenging, but the strict liability dog bite laws in this state make it easier. In general, all that has to be shown for a dog bite claim to be successful is that the dog bit an individual who was on public property or lawfully in a private area and that the individual did not provoke the dog.
Individuals who need to prove that the dog owner was negligent will have to go a step further in showing that the owner’s actions directly led to the dog bite incident. Regardless of whether or not a person is filing a strict liability claim or a civil personal injury lawsuit against the dog owner, evidence must be gathered. We strongly encourage working with a skilled dog bite injury attorney in Roseville who can handle every aspect of the claim. Dog bite injury victims should focus on recovering from their injuries and moving forward. An attorney will be the one to handle all communication with other parties as well as the process of proving the strict liability or negligence claim.
Actions to Take After a Dog Attack
Various steps that people can take to help ensure they receive the medical treatment they need and attention to their case. Some of these steps must be taken immediately after a dog bite incident occurs, but other steps will happen over the days and weeks following the incident. Even though each case is different, the general steps dog bite victims need to take include:
Seek Medical Care
Any dog bite victim must seek prompt medical care. For severe injuries, this should be a visit to the emergency room. For some dog bite incidents, a critical care facility or an emergency doctor clinic may be sufficient, but we strongly encourage you to follow all instructions recommended by the medical professional. Even relatively minor dog bite injuries must be treated by a medical professional so as to prevent more serious infections from occurring. Prompt medical care establishes a strong link between the dog bite incident and the injuries, which is what insurance carriers will look at.
Report the Incident
All dog bite incidents that occur in Roseville must be reported to the proper authorities. For dog bite victims should dial 911 and let law enforcement officials handle the situation. Victims can also call Roseville animal control authorities to help them determine the next best steps to take. The police control officers can handle the situation and fill out an accident report, which will be crucial when it comes to filing an insurance claim or a civil personal injury lawsuit against the dog owner.
Gather Evidence
It may be possible to gather some evidence from the scene of the incident. This can include using a phone to take photographs of any injuries or the area where the dog bite occurred. Additionally, if there were any eyewitnesses to the incident, their names and contact information should be written down as promptly as possible. Any clothing worn during the dog bite incident should be placed into plastic bags or a container and not destroyed or cleaned.
Contact an Attorney
Dog bite injury victims in Roseville should reach out to a skilled attorney as soon as possible. A lawyer can get involved quickly, begin an investigation, and handle all communication with other parties involved.
Continue Medical Treatment
All dog bite injury victims should continue medical treatment recommended by their medical professional. Discontinuing care before a doctor recommends doing so could lead to a delay or a person receiving less compensation than they otherwise would have received.
Avoid Social Media
We recommend that all dog bite injury victims avoid using social media, particularly to make any posts about the dog bite incident and the recovery process. Anything individuals say online while they have an ongoing injury claim against another party will inevitably be discovered and could be used against them. For example, claiming a severe injury but then making a post about being able to go to the grocery store could be used by the insurance carriers or legal team for the defendant to limit how much compensation they pay.
Contact an Experienced Roseville Dog Bite Lawyer Today
Dogs have very powerful jaws that can inflict major injuries. Unfortunately, recovering compensation after a dog bite injury can be challenging.
If you or a loved one has sustained a dog bite injury but are not sure how to recover compensation for your losses, we encourage you to reach out to Rosenthal Law as soon as possible. Our Roseville dog bit lawyers have the resources necessary to handle every aspect of the claim on your behalf. We know what it takes to stand up to aggressive insurance carriers in order to recover maximum compensation for your losses. When you need a Roseville dog bite attorney, you can contact us for a free consultation by clicking here or calling us at (916) 774-7200.