While dogs are considered “man’s best friend,” some pose a serious threat to others. Many unsuspecting individuals are injured every year when they encounter a vicious dog not under its owner’s control. Even relatively well-behaved dogs can snap if they are feeling unwell or threatened.
Dog bite injuries are excruciating and, in many cases, lead to permanent scarring. These injuries can also lead to significant emotional trauma. If someone else’s dog has bitten you, you deserve to be fairly compensated for the harm you have suffered.
A dog owner is liable for your injuries if the dog had dangerous propensities that the owner was aware of or should have known. The dog owner’s homeowner’s insurance is usually who will be responsible for paying for your medical bills and compensation for pain, suffering, and mental anguish.
The specific circumstances surrounding the dog attack can significantly impact your case and right to recover. An experienced dog bite attorney can review your case during a free, no-obligation consultation. We can answer your questions, explain your legal options, and represent you if you decide to move forward with a dog bite injury claim. Let our dog bite lawyers get to work for you.
Our Experience with Dog Bite Cases
We have handled over 140 dog bite cases in North Alabama. The injuries from those dog bites have ranged from small puncture wounds to fatal wounds to the neck.
Dogs can be vicious, even if unprovoked, and the consequences can be painful, permanent, and sometimes fatal. In one case involving the death of a child, we were able to achieve a $1,250,000 settlement, which was the maximum available insurance in the case.
How We Handle Dog Bite Injury Cases
We investigate the case first. We get work by:
- determining the breed of the dog
- searching records for prior attacks by the dog
- obtaining the dog’s veterinarian records
- gathering information from animal control
- locating reports from law enforcement
- taking pictures of the injuries; and
- obtaining medical records and bills
Our personal injury lawyers piece together the picture to show that the dog was dangerous and that the owner knew it or should have known it.
How Are Dog Bite Lawyers Paid?
Our attorneys are only paid if we win your dog bite injury case. We work on a contingency fee, which means we are paid a percentage of the settlement only if we win your case.
Depending on the facts of your particular case, that contingency fee can be anywhere from 33.3% to 40%. The factors determining the fee percentage include the degree of difficulty of the case and whether the case is settled pre-suit or must be litigated.
Alabama Law About Dog Bite Injuries
Alabama law regarding dog bites is complicated. Most states use either a strict liability rule or a one-bite rule, but Alabama uses a hybrid approach. Under Alabama law, a person who is bitten or injured by a dog that is on the property owned or controlled by the dog owner has a right to financial compensation when they are bitten while lawfully on the property and without provocation or when they were legally on the property and chased from it by the dog. There are several elements that you must prove to benefit from this law:
- You were lawfully on the property – You must show that you had a legal right to be on the property. For example, a friend may have invited you to the property. You could be on public property. Other people, such as meter readers, public utility workers, and postal delivery workers, may be deemed by Alabama law to have a legal easement to the property.
- You were bitten or injured – Medical records and other evidence may be able to establish that the dog bit you or that you fell and were injured during the attack.
- The attack was unprovoked – The law states explicitly that the dog must not have acted without provocation. If you were teasing the dog or engaging in roughhouse, you might be unable to show this legal element.
Under this law, you can recover compensation for your medical expenses and other losses without having to prove the dog owner knew the dog posed a danger.
To hold a dog owner liable for injuries that occurred on premises other than those under the ownership or control of the dog owner, you must prove that the dog owner was negligent in some manner. In these situations, you must show that the dog owner knew the dog was dangerous and that they were careless in preventing the injury from occurring. There may be several ways to show the owner knew the dog owner was dangerous, such as showing:
- Previous instances in which the dog bit others
- Previous occurrences in which the dog displayed vicious or dangerous propensities
- Videos of the dog acting aggressively without provocation
In these types of cases, liability for the dog bite may depend on whether the owner knew or should have known the dog was dangerous, previous instances of dog bites, whether the attack was provoked, the dog’s breed, and the legal status of the person on the property where the dog attack occurred.
Another way to establish your right to financial compensation following a dog attack is using negligence per se principles. These types of cases assert that a relevant law existed to protect the victim and that the other party’s violation of the law caused their injury.
For example, many communities, including Huntsville, have leash laws that require dog owners to keep dogs in public on leashes. Huntsville’s leash law requires dog owners to keep their dogs leashed even when on walking trails. If a person fails to keep their dog properly leashed and injures someone as a result, the dog owner can be held liable for the resulting injuries.
Examples of When Dog Bite Owners May Be Responsible for Injuries
Here are some common scenarios where we have proven the dog owner was negligent after an injury occurred:
- The dog owner knew the dog had dangerous propensities and did not take proper precautions to advise others of this.
- The dog owner allowed his dog to roam freely in a neighborhood, knowing that the dog had a history of aggression.
- The dog owner brought an aggressive dog to a dog park, leading to a dog fight in which someone was hurt.
Our experienced dog bite lawyers can carefully review your case to determine if you have viable grounds for a dog bite injury claim.
Compensation for Dog Bite Claims
The average costs associated with a dog bite can be considerable. Medical costs may include payment for emergency treatment, surgery, and medication. Reconstructive surgery may be necessary in some circumstances. Dog bite victims may suffer serious injuries that prevent them from working.
These individuals can seek compensation for the full extent of economic and non-economic damages they sustain because of the dog attack. Economic damages may provide payment for medical bills, therapy, lost income, and diminished earning capacity. Non-economic damages can compensate victims for pain, suffering, emotional distress, mental anguish, and loss of quality of life due to suffering serious injuries. When the dog attack causes disfiguring injuries, the dog bite victim may be able to recover compensation for disfigurement and scarring.
Our experienced attorneys can review the circumstances of your claim and prepare a claim for maximum compensation. We can gather medical bills, employment records, pain journal entries, and other documentation to substantiate your demand for damages.
Dog Bites to Children
Many of the dog bite cases we have handled involved child victims. Most children do not realize they shouldn’t pet a neighbor’s dog or don’t realize that an escaped dog could hurt them. Many of those dog bites lead to infection or scarring.
With severe injuries, sometimes surgery is needed or plastic surgery is necessary to restore the skin’s normal appearance. In one dog bite case involving a child, we were able to recover $565,000 to help with medical bills and future plastic surgery.
The personal injury settlement process for children is a little different than the process for an adult. To learn more about injury settlements for children, read our article The Special Rules of Personal Injury Claims for Children.
Dog Bite Statistics
Approximately 4.5 million people suffer dog bites each year. About 800,000 of these dog bites require medical attention. About half of dog bite victims are children, who are more likely to be severely injured by such vicious attacks. Many of these instances involve dogs the child is familiar with.
While pit bulls, mixed breeds, and German Shepherds are more likely to be involved in dog bite attacks, any dog can potentially bite.
Why Homeowners’ Insurance May be Involved
In most instances, we are seeking compensation from the dog owner’s homeowner’s insurance company. Homeowner’s insurance generally covers a homeowner’s negligence outside of a motor vehicle.
Homeowner’s insurance claims are different than car accident personal injury claims. Sometimes, the homeowner’s insurance tries to argue that the insurance policy doesn’t cover the incident. Or, sometimes the homeowner’s insurance company denies the claim without considering all of the evidence. That’s why you need an attorney who has experience with these types of claims.
Let Us Get to Work for You
If you or a loved one has suffered an injury in a dog bite incident, please reach out for a free case evaluation. Our dog bite attorneys are here to help demand the compensation you need to rebuild your life after suffering serious injuries in a dog bite attack. We are knowledgeable about Alabama’s dog bite laws and have obtained favorable outcomes in similar cases. Put our experience to work for you and your family.