We represent dog bite victims in order to help the victim and the victim's family receive compensation. We have experience investigating dog bite incidents to determine the relevant legal issues and available sources of financial recovery. We represent dog bite victims on a pure contingency fee basis. This means that we do not require any payment from our clients and are paid only once we recover money for the dog bite victim. We also work with local authorities to eliminate dangerous dogs from exposure to people. If you or a loved one has been injured by a dog, please do not hesitate to contact us for a consultation.
How We Help.
We have experience investigating dog bite accidents, know the law and have experience interpretting insurance policies. We use these abilities to formulate a dog bite case such that it will implicate insurance coverage and enable the victim to become compensated via a settlement with the insurance company or by a jury verdict.
The outline below gives a general outline of how we usually go about helping a dog bite victim. The course of action that we take will vary depending upon the specific fact pattern that we are dealing with.
1. Meet with the dog victim and the victim's family members. Explain the law regarding dog bite liability and explain how homeowners insurance can provide a source of recovery to the dog bite victim. If the dog bite victim is a child, explain the special requirements regarding litigating a case involving a minor.
2. Gather necessary evidence including medical records, photos, witness accounts and information about the dog and the dog owner
3. Ascertain all sources of recovery. This step is crucial and requires a
working knowledge of commonly used insurance policies and the interpretation these policies are given by the courts. For example, insurance companies often try to deny coverage for a dog bite on the grounds that the dog was part of a business pursuit. If the insuranc company is allowed to invoke this coverage exclusion, there will very likely be no money available to the dog bite victim.
4. Work with medical providers to make sure that the accident victim is getting necessary treatment. Often, it is necessary to engage a plastic surgeon.
5. Submit a well organized demand package to the insurance company and/or the offending dog's owner.
6. Draft a Petition for Damages and file this Petition with the appropriate court.
7. Utilize the discovery process to establish admissible evidence.
8. Take the depositions of all necessary parties and witnesses. Hire experts if necessary and take the expert depositions.
9. Research the law as it pertains to specific legal issues at play including evidentiary issues and issues pertaining to damages.
10. Go to trial and present the case to a jury.
Compensation.
Typically, the best source of recovery for a dog bite victim is the offending dog owner's homeowners insurance. This insurance usually applies to the loss if the loss was accidental and not part of a business pursuit. If the loss was part of a business pursuit, there may be other coverage which is available.
Many dog bite victims want to hire an attorney but do not think they can afford to. My firm does not charge anything up front to represent a dog bite victim. Rather, we charge a contingency fee that is deducted from the settlement or judgment proceeds.
If the dog bite victim is a minor (under 18), the law imposes special requirements designed to protect the settlement proceeds for the minor. In this situation, the court may require the settlement proceeds to be deposited into a protected, interest bearing account payable to the minor upon the minor's 18th birthday. We work with the minor, the minor's guardian and their financial advisor to make sure that the settlement or judgment proceeds are optimized for the benefit of our client.
Because insurance companies usually do not seek out dog bite victims and voluntarily engage the victim in settlement negotiations, most dog bite victims have no choice but to hire an attorney in order to get any recovery. Sometimes, especially when the dog bite injury is severe, the insurance company on the hook for the loss will find the victim and attempt to get the victim to settle and release all future claims. In this situation, the dog bite victim has nothing to lose by at least consulting with an attorney to determine the likely value of the dog bite claim and compare this to the amount offered by the insurance company. This is the best way to make sure that the dog bite victim is not releasing all future claims for an unfair, low settlement amount.