Dog Bite Case Timeline

Answer:

This question was asked recently in a call by a potential client who had suffered major attack and scarring from their forearm. What the attorney advised is that in Arizona, in general, you for sure want to resolve your claim within one year or less because that’s much more favorable from a legal perspective. It’s basically if the dog hurts anybody, as the attorney explained, there is something involved called strict liability. It means the owner is responsible. You may have heard in other states there is a “one free bite” rule. There are no free bites in Arizona, unless you wait beyond a year. If you wait beyond a year, then your claim can become more difficult, as the attorney explained.

That’s why it’s important that you call us right away. Even if the other person agrees to pay something, call us anyway because most of the time, 99% of the time, it doesn’t happen. If you wait more than a year, your claim becomes more difficult. Typically, you’ll run into situations where the dog’s owner doesn’t want to give you insurance information. Or, maybe they weren’t truthful with the insurance company. They didn’t tell them that they had a dog or that they lied about what kind of dog it is or all these other things that can come up.

What do you do if they’re your neighbor and you don’t want to have bad relations with the neighbor? That’s another reason to call us because we’ll talk to your neighbor. We’re not going to come in like bad, evil Darth Vaders. We want to resolve this. We usually never file a lawsuit. If we have the insurance information, we’ll just talk to your insurance company. That’s why you have insurance. Just do it low key. Most of the time that works. Now, if the dog owner is somebody three blocks over and not your neighbor and they won’t give us the insurance information, we’ll sue them. That’s even more of a reason to call us. We’re sensitive to your situation. Maybe the dog owner is a relative. We understand. We’ll just work with you and help you or your loved one in the best way.

Now, if the victim is a child, then as the attorney explained in this other situation, you can have more than a year to file a claim until they maybe get to be 18 or older. Again, all those things, that’s a reason to call our law firm. Talk to one of our attorneys. They’ll analyze the case specifically. The good news is most of the time, if there is insurance, then we’re able to resolve that claim without going to court, without filing a lawsuit. If your loved one is a child under the age of 18, there are special provisions for protecting the money that goes to that child and make sure that it’s available. There are also ways that it can be used for education and things like that. Again, call us. We’ll be happy to explain all those things to you.

As far as the total time involved, you want your loved one to get better, maybe do what’s called a scar revision, see if it improves them. Typically, the cases can be resolved in less than a year, and sometimes in just a few months, and occasionally a few weeks. Every situation is different. That’s a reason to call us. Remember, the call is free. If you’ve been suffered a dog attack or a loved one, the call is free. The information is free. It can make a huge difference to you or your loved one, especially for the psychological and emotional injuries if you call us. We’ll give you referrals for free, even if you haven’t decided that you want to hire our firm yet. Just remember that we are here for you.