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ANIMAL BITE / DOG BITE INJURIES
Animal bites and attacks can be terrifying and cause serious injury. Many people are attacked by a wide variety of animals and, oftentimes, to no fault of their own.
Animal attacks can lead to deep lacerations, permanent scarring, broken bones, and much more. Sometimes, these attacks can come on unprovoked, but someone will need to be held liable for your injuries. It is possible to open a personal injury claim if you suffered injuries from an animal bite or attack.
For this article, we will go through the differences between animal attacks and how these differences can affect you legally, and proving an animal had vicious tendencies in your case.
COMMON INJURIES FROM ANIMAL BITES AND ATTACKS
Many people have been bitten by an animal of some sort in their lives and they know that the injuries they can get typically depend on the animal. Smaller animals tend to only leave mild injuries while larger ones can cause severe injury. Some common injuries people experience from animal attacks are:
- Puncture wounds from bites
- Infections if the animal had any diseases
- Scarring
- Blood loss
- Broken or fractured bones
For most cases, animal bites are the cause of injury. Even if the animal is small, their bite can do a lot of damage depending on how long they bit down for and how many times they bit you. What could just be a small puncture wound can turn into permanent scarring or even nerve damage.
Some larger animals may have a strong enough bite to break bones as well if bitten on the hand or another area with not much muscle. Any of these injuries can land you in the hospital and rack up hefty medical expenses.
If you experienced any of these kinds of injuries from an animal attack, you should contact a lawyer as soon as possible to explore the options you may have to receive compensation for your medical expenses.
PROVING DANGEROUS BEHAVIOR
For states that do not have strict liability laws in place (particularly for dog bites) you will need to prove that the owner knew or should have known about the animal’s vicious propensities.
One way to show an animal’s owner knew that they may be dangerous is if there were other complaints about the animal’s behavior from before. If these situations were brought up to them but nothing was done after getting the complaints, they could be liable for injuries due to negligence in giving you a proper warning.
If the owner seemed to go to excessive measures to restrain the animal, such as, keeping them in a cage, enclosed space, or putting a muzzle on them, you could use that as an indication the owner was aware of their vicious tendencies.
HOW DIFFERENT ANIMAL TYPES AFFECT YOUR CLAIM
There are different laws surrounding different animals when it comes to personal injury claims. Whether you were bitten by a dog, horse, wild animal, or other kinds of animals, there will be a different set of laws surrounding your case.
- Dogs
Many states have created dog-bite laws that hold dog owners to something known as strict liability. Strict liability holds the owner of the dog responsible for any injuries caused by their dog regardless of circumstances.
It is important to note if your state has these strict liability laws in place if you were bitten by a dog because there will be much less to prove in a personal injury case. The only proof you will need is that the dog bit you and the owner was responsible for that dog.
Although, even with strict liability laws, if the dog was proven to be provoked or you were trespassing on the property, you will not have a case for personal injury. The victims of dog bites certainly have the advantage in these kinds of cases but there are ways around strict liability but for good reason.
Dog bites are among the most common kinds of animal attacks you will see in personal injury claims and the laws around them are usually simple. For other kinds of domesticated animals, this is a different story.
- Horses
A horse bite can certainly hurt and cause some serious damage but the more common personal injury claims come from horse kicks rather than bites. The horse’s natural defense mechanism is to kick up its hind legs and this attack is very powerful.
A horse’s kick can break bones and cause traumatic brain injuries easily but there are no “horse-kick laws” in any states so these attacks fall under most other domestic animal attacks.
To make a strong personal injury claim for a domestic animal attack injury you will need to prove the animal had vicious tendencies and that the owner was negligent in restraining the animal or sufficiently warning you about them.
It is not quite as simple as strict liability and, if it was proven the horse was provoked or you were trespassing, there will be no case for personal injury.
- Wild Animals
Most cases of wild animal bites and attacks are held under strict liability much like dog bites. The reason for this is that owning a wild animal that is uncontrollable is considered a dangerous act in itself.
Even if the owner takes seemingly excessive precaution in keeping the animal confined, if a person is injured by this animal, its owner is held liable for any injuries it causes.
CONTACT LAW LEADERS TODAY FOR YOUR DOG BITE / ANIMAL BITE OR ATTACK LEGAL NEEDS
Animal bites and attacks can come in many different varieties and can cause some terrifying injuries that can easily put you in the hospital for extended periods of time.
If you feel the injuries were due to the animal owner’s negligence, legal organizations such as Law Leaders can help you get the compensation you need. Law Leaders has helped all sorts of Americans file personal injury claims and their expert team of lawyers are a perfect fit to help you build a strong case for your animal bite or attack injury. Get a free consultation with one of America's Best Dog Bite / Animal Bite Attorneys when you call today.
