After a Dog Bite

Answer:

If you’ve been attacked by a dog, what are your next steps? We had a call come into our office just recently asking that question because dog bites, dog attacks, are shockingly common in Arizona. The numbers are much higher than what you might guess. It really matters when it happens to you.

In that situation, call us, just like that person did who had some serious lacerations on their leg. The dog bit right through their trousers and it wasn’t a pretty sight. In a case like that, of course, the number one thing is the follow-up medical care. If it’s just happened to your loved one or something like that, it’s really important that you call us if you haven’t had a plastic surgeon do the reconstruction because there’s a lot they can do right immediately, I’m talking about within a few hours, that’s less possible in the future. Call us right away if you don’t have a plastic surgeon available to do that and we can make that referral. If it’s beyond a few days, a few weeks, the other steps you need to do is you can try on your own to get the insurance information or if the animal control has furnished it. Many times, there are situations where the owner of the dog is not clear or the dog owner is refusing to give insurance information. You need to call us right away. Frankly, you need to call us no matter what the situation is to at least get free information and free help and free referrals. Then basically, we wait at least six months and then we see if the scars can be revised or improved. Typically, they can, at least a little bit. Then at that point we have probably the maximum value of the case and we can send the demands to the insurance company and usually settle the case pretty quickly. Remember, we can set aside money for children for even college education. That’s a big deal, so even though the dog attack was something that was very traumatic, still there is a way to benefit your child often in that situation. Remember, another thing important is don’t overlook the psychological injuries. We can help you, make referrals to trauma counselors, trauma therapists, that can help your loved one get over that trauma that can keep you up at night, wake up your loved one with nightmares, they can re-experience this over and over again, and sometimes it never ends unless they get treatment. Again, call us is you or a loved one have been the victim of a dog attack. The call is free. The information is free. If you’ve been the victim of a dog attack or a loved one, we really do care about you.