Getting bit by a dog often comes with physical injuries and emotional distress. You can seek justice as a victim of an attack and hold the dog’s owner responsible with the help of a seasoned dog bite lawyer. The pet injury lawyers at Esquire Law advocate on your behalf after this frightening incident takes place and aim to seek financial compensation for the owner’s negligence.
What Should You Do After a Dog Attack?
If a dog attacks you and causes injury, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and unsure of what to do. Take these tips to prioritize your safety and hold the appropriate party responsible. By following these steps and working with dog bite injury lawyers, you can help avoid this incident from happening again.
Seek Immediate Medical Attention
Any dog bite that breaks the skin can cause bleeding and put you at risk for serious infections. Receive medical treatment immediately after the attack to evaluate the severity of your injuries and prevent complications. Don’t delay getting treatment as this could have health consequences.
Gather Information on the Dog and Its Owner
Compiling any information about the dog and its owner should be your next priority. Having this information helps local authorities and legal teams take appropriate action.
Perhaps the dog belongs to a neighbor who you can easily identify. Take note of their name and address as well as their contact information. If you’re not sure who the dog belongs to but can pinpoint its breed, ask people in your neighborhood if they’ve seen the dog and know its owner.
Contact Local Authorities
Reach out to your local authorities to report the dog attack. It’s possible the dog is a stray that Animal Control must restrain and test for rabies or other diseases. Contacting the police also helps them keep a record on file of the dog’s behavior, which may help prove the owner’s negligence if multiple attacks happen.
Do you want to prevent someone else from getting hurt by the same aggressive dog that hurt you? Notifying the authorities helps keep the rest of the community safe.
Document Your Road to Recovery
Say you want to file a lawsuit with dog bite injury lawyers in Phoenix. Building a strong case requires proof of your injuries and the extent of your losses that dog bite attorneys can seek financial compensation for. Photograph your injuries throughout the healing process and keep documentation of various medical expenses relating to the attack.
Once you complete all of these steps, contact an experienced lawyer for dog bite lawsuits. They will take all of your information and use it to present a powerful case against the dog’s owner. All you have to do is take time to heal and focus on your well-being while your lawyer handles the litigation process.
Common Injuries Stemming From Dog Bites
As a leading dog bite lawyer in Utah and Arizona, our team at Esquire Law sees clients face a wide range of injuries because of dog attacks. Common physical injuries include:
- Cuts and lacerations
- Facial injuries or disfigurement
- Blood loss
- Soft tissue damage
Victims may also suffer from emotional trauma and develop a long-term fear of dogs because of the accident. Recovering from a physical injury can take time but the emotional toll of surviving a dog attack can be ongoing. Our goal is to give you peace of mind by holding the dog’s owner responsible for their negligent actions.
Arizona Dog Bite Claims: Exploring Strict Liability
Owning a dog in Arizona means you’re fully responsible for any physical harm the animal inflicts on others. Consult our dog bite injury lawyers in Tucson, AZ, and we’ll tell you that the dog owner in question must be held liable regardless of whether the dog has a history of biting others.
The state imposes strict liability on dog owners to hold them accountable for their animals. This makes it easier for you as a victim to seek compensation. The amount you receive ultimately depends on whether you have a competent dog bite lawyer fighting for you.
Responsibility of Owners in Arizona Dog Bite Claims
Arizona law states that victims of a dog attack don’t need to prove that an owner is aware of the dog’s violent history to seek compensation for the incident. However, if the dog tends to exhibit dangerous behavior and the owner doesn’t take the appropriate steps to control or prevent it, lawyers can argue for the victim to receive compensation based on both common law negligence and the state’s liability statute.
Your case could focus on owner negligence in the following scenarios:
- The owner lets the dog run loose or fails to confine them to their property.
- The owner doesn’t follow local leash laws in public places.
- The owner doesn’t disclose to others that the dog may exhibit dangerous behaviors.
It’s possible that a negligent owner may have to pay punitive damages for their role in the attack. The legal team at Esquire Law has years of experience handling dog bite cases in both Arizona and Utah. We’ll make sure to hold the owner accountable for your injuries and help you earn justice.
Statute of Limitations for Dog Bite Cases in Arizona
If you choose to hire a dog bite lawyer after being injured in an attack, you have a deadline for filing a lawsuit, also known as a statute of limitation. Arizona residents have the option to file two types of lawsuits, which subjects them to two unique statutes of limitations.
The first involves the state’s strict liability statute. Filing this type of suit means you don’t have to prove the owner’s knowledge and negligence of the dog’s aggressive behavior. You must file the suit within one year after the attack takes place for the court to consider it viable.
You’ll have a two-year deadline if you choose to file under Arizona’s common law negligence statute. In this case, you must prove that the dog’s owner was aware of the animal’s violent tendencies but failed to protect others. If you’re not sure which type of suit you should file, reach out to the animal bite legal counsel at Esquire Law for a detailed breakdown.
Statute of Limitations for Dog Bite Cases in Utah Since our law firm consists of dog bite lawyers in Salt Lake City, UT as well as Arizona, we’re familiar with the statute of limitations for dog bite cases in Utah. The deadline for Utah residents is much more straightforward compared to Arizona. Victims have four years from the day of the attack to file a dog bite lawsuit and don’t have to worry about separate deadlines for the type of case they want to file.
We recommend scheduling a legal consultation as soon as possible to ensure you don’t miss any filing deadlines. We’ll start building a robust case that emphasizes how the dog and its owner’s negligence impacts your health and safety.
Frequently Asked Questions
At Esquire Law, our canine attack attorneys receive a lot of questions regarding dog bite lawsuits and litigation services. Discover the answers to some common questions from dog attack victims.
What Legal Options Do You Have if a Dog Bites You?
You can file a dog bite lawsuit in your state to hold the owner responsible if you endure injuries from a dog that was not kept within reasonable control by its owner. The attack must take place either in public or on private property when you have a legitimate reason for being there. You won’t be able to hold the owner accountable in court if the attack meets the following criteria:
- The dog attacked while working as a military or police dog.
- The dog was not running loose but rather confined to a kennel.
- The dog bit you in defense of someone else under attack.
- You trespassed onto the owner’s property and provoked the dog to attack you.
In a Dog Bite Lawsuit, How Much Money Can You Receive?
Financial compensation in dog bite lawsuits depends on the extent of your injuries. A canine injury legal professional will often seek damages for your medical expenses and lost wages due to the attack, as well as compensation for your emotional distress and possible deformities.
Dog Bite Attorneys and Law Services in Phoenix, Tucson, and Salt Lake City
Navigating the legal process of a dog-biting case can be difficult if you have no prior experience. Team up with a professional dog attack lawyer at Esquire Law, and you’ll quickly understand your rights to compensation and the local laws regarding dog bite lawsuits in Arizona and Utah. Let our legal team guide you through the complexities of your lawsuit and negotiate for you to receive appropriate compensation for your losses.
We take care of investigative and litigation services so you can focus on recovering from your injuries. To schedule a consultation with a dog bite lawyer in Phoenix or Tucson, AZ, or Salt Lake City, UT, contact Esquire Law today at (602) 654-2950.