Have you been bitten by a dog and suffering injuries? Learn what you should know about your dog bite claim in this article. Contact us today.
Choosing a Dog Bite Attorney
This is a very common question after someone has suffered a severe dog attack or dog bite in Arizona. In fact, we got a call the other day from a potential client. One of our attorneys addressed that question like this.
The first thing is, and most people don’t think of this, but do you have plastic surgeon, who you work with regularly? People go, well, why would that be important? This is why. Because typically, what happens is you present to the emergency room and they’ll have whoever is on duty there do the best job they can of stitching up, especially for anybody, but especially women or young girls, if they were attacked and had facial injuries. They’ll do the best job they can in stitching people back together again, but they are not as skilled as a plastic surgeon is. That’s their specialty. They have tons of extra training. If you know that your loved one has suffered this and they’re on their way to the hospital, if there’s any chance you can Google us or whatever, what we’ll do is get a plastic surgeon to be available to actually stitch up your loved one. That can make a huge difference in minimizing the scars and scarring they have for the rest of their life. Yes, there’s procedures later on that they can make scars less visible, but at the moment when they go into the emergency room, that’s where the biggest difference can be.
Of course, chances are the incident has already occurred and you didn’t have a chance to call a plastic surgeon. Call us anyway. We can still make arrangements for your loved one to see a plastic surgeon and see if there’s something that can be done now. Typically, once the initial repair has been done in the emergency room, you usually have to wait six months or so to see how things are going to progress. That’s probably the number one thing, and people aren’t aware of it, to make sure the law firm has a board-certified plastic surgeon available to help their loved one. That’ll tell you a lot right there whether they really are a dog bite firm that really cares for their clients. It’s not common to have a board certified plastic surgeon available like that but we do have that at our firm.
Beyond that, dog attacks leave psychological injuries. If you think about it, it’s like a Hollywood horror movie. If somebody has actually suffered that, there’s all kinds of psychological injuries. You want to ask the law firm if they have trauma counselors who have a success record, especially with younger children. The younger they are, the more frightened they are by an incident. We have trauma counselors that can actually work with children who can’t even talk yet and get them over their trauma. It’s incredible. Find out that about the potential dog bite law firm. Again, that’s rare. That’s not common. Then it’s typical even for adults then to develop phobias. Again, we have great therapists available that can help them deal with that.
All those things go into determining whether or not a firm really has the expertise to take care of a loved one or yourself emotionally, physically. If you get the best care, especially for the psychological injuries, which are often ignored, we get the most compensation for our clients. We get them the best care, the most compensation— it’s a win-win. If you or a loved one has suffered a dog attack, do your loved one and yourself a favor and at least give us a call and talk to us. You can decide whichever firm you want, but at least talk to us, because remember, the call is free, the information is free. It can be priceless as far as the long-term effect and your loved one’s smile. We are here for you.
Beware of Dog Sign
Another common question that comes up for people who are the victims of a dog bite or dog attack is what difference does it make, if any, if the dog owner has in big poster letters beware of dog and has a big menacing looking face there. That question came up recently in a call to our office from a potential client. Here’s what our attorney said. In Arizona, if the claim is made within one year, it really doesn’t matter that much whether there are signs or flashing lights or whatever. If that dog is outside of the property, the owner is going to be responsible no matter what. If they’re inside the property, then it gets more complicated.
For instance, as the attorney explained, if you’re at the house visiting and their dog attacks, in Arizona, the dog owner is still responsible. They’re not going to be able to say, hey, I said beware of dog. That isn’t going to help them, as the attorney explained.
Then there are other situations where, let’s say, the dog is in the backyard and you have a 13-year-old kid go back there. Your dog is on a leash, or hopefully not chained. Then the 13-year-old kid just decides, hey, I’m going to get a rise out of this dog and starts throwing rocks at it and provoking the dog. That can be a situation where then if the dog takes a bite out of this kid’s leg, the dog owner isn’t necessarily automatically responsible. However, provoking the dog is probably one of the few ways that a dog owner might be able to have less responsibility, but generally in Arizona, as the attorney explained the other day, is that a dog owner is responsible for basically any damage or injury that a dog causes if the claim is brought within the first year.
If you have been attacked by a dog, bit by a dog, or a loved one, call us. The call is free. The information is free. We really do want to help our clients that have been injured, attacked, and bitten by dogs, especially if that is you.
Dog Bite Insurance Coverage
A common question if you’ve been a victim of a dog attack, a dog bite, or a loved one, is whether homeowner’s insurance covers that. Of course, on the flip side, if your dog attacks somebody else, then you want to know the answer to that, too. A call came in to one of our attorneys recently from a dog bite victim. What our attorney explained is that if the dog bite owner, the dog owner, owns a home, more likely than not, there isn’t going to be insurance coverage, but not necessarily. That’s a reason to call us so we can verify that because there are provisions now in most homeowner insurance policies that excludes certain breeds. If the insurance company says your breed of dog has no insurance coverage, then there may not be insurance coverage, unless you pay extra.
Those are situations where you really do need to call us so we can help analyze the situation. Now, if you are a dog owner and your dog has bitten somebody, start with your insurance agent and ask them that question. If you’re a little scared because you go, well, my dog is a mix and whatever, maybe that’s a reason to call a lawyer. Probably not our firm because we just represent victims, but if you call us, we can refer you to a lawyer who can help determine whether there’s going to be insurance coverage for you if it’s not clear. Whatever the situation is, remember that insurance coverage is usually the way that you’re going to get compensation for what happened to you or your loved one. If it’s not clear, or even if it is clear, call us. We’ll give you the guidance you need. The call is free. The information is free. If you or a loved one has been a victim of a dog bite or a dog attack, we really are here for you.
Have you or a loved one been attacked by a dog and have questions about what you should know about your dog bite claim? Contact experienced Gilbert Dog Bite Accident Lawyers at Free Injury Advice today for a free consultation and case evaluation.
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