Dog Bite Injuries

Stockton personal injury attorney

Helping Victims Of Vicious Dog Bites & Attacks

If you or someone you know has been bitten by a dog, it’s important you contact an experienced personal injury attorney who can help you in your case. California is a strict liability state which means a dog owner is responsible for the injuries their dog causes, even if they didn’t do anything wrong. However, there are some circumstances that puts someone else partially responsible such as:

• Someone besides the owner was taking care of and hand control over the dog
• The dog’s owner is less than 18 years old
• The owner’s landlord knew the dog was dangerous but didn’t do anything about it
• The dog was on someone else’s property, and that person was negligent in not removing the dog

Contact Stockton personal injury attorney to discuss your case

If you or someone close to you has suffered a personal injury related to a dog bite, it’s important to protect your rights. Contact Stockton personal injury attorney at The Friel Law Firm as soon as possible. Our personal injury attorney will evaluate your case and determine the best legal actions to take. Call (209) 464-8000 for a free consultation today.

Dog Bite Injury Statistics

Nearly 5,000,000 dog bite injuries happen each year in the United States. Each year, over 800,000 require medical attention and over 300,000 require hospitalization. There are many breeds of dogs that are more than capable of causing serious injury and even death. Over 40,000 of these injuries are to the victims face. Not included is the large number of dog bite injuries that go unreported. More than 50% of dog bites involve children. Some of the more dangerous dog breeds include:

• Pit Bull
• Rotweillers
• Doberman Pinschers
• Huskies
• German Shepherds
• Chows

The medical cost associated with dog bites can be great, but the emotional cost can be even greater. Victims of a serious dog bite injury often become afraid to go for walks or ride their bikes for fear of another attack. Dog bites can inflict both emotional and physical harm to people.

If you or someone close to you has suffered a personal injury related to a dog bite, it’s important to protect your rights. Contact a Northern California personal injury attorney at The Friel Law Firm as soon as possible.

An experienced dog bite injury lawyer will evaluate your case for free. If we determine you have a personal injury claim, we will handle your case aggressively and will fight to get the compensation you deserve. As always, you pay nothing unless we win your personal injury case.

What is Strict Liability

This law says that a dog’s owner may be held liable for another person’s damages in a civil claim if:

• The person’s injury was caused by a dog bite and
• The injured person was in a public place or lawfully in a private place when the bite occurred
• The exception in this statute includes dog bites that occur while a dog is performing police or military work. In these instances, an injured person may not usually sue for damages. Also, keep in mind that this statute specifies injuries caused by a bite, not by another behavior like jumping or scratching.
• Another California statute applies to situations where a dog has bitten someone in the past, and it puts that dog’s owner on notice when it comes to preventing future attacks.

Other instances that protects the dog owners in case of a dog bite are:

• The person who the dog bit was a trespasser
• If the dog bites the vet who is treating him, the owner is not held liable for the dog bite
• If a dog bites someone who proved the dog. In many cases where a dog owner has told people to stay away from the dog, but the person still advances
• towards the dog and got bitten, the dog owner is not held responsible

Dog bite lawsuits can get particularly tricky and it’s best to contact an attorney who can help you with your case. In some situations, a dog’s owner might face criminal charges if the dog bite was from a “dangerous” or a “vicious” dog.

A dangerous dog is one that:

• Has acted aggressively in a way that forced another person to defend him or herself in at least two separate incidents in the previous 36 months, while away from the dog owner’s property
• Has bitten another person, unprovoked, causing a non-severe injury
• Has killed, bitten, or injured a domestic animal at least twice within the last 36 months, while away from the dog owner’s property

A vicious dog is one that:

• Is owned by a person who has been convicted of an offense related to illegal dog-fighting
• Has aggressively inflicted severe injury or killed a human being
• Has been listed as a “dangerous dog” but whose owner has failed to follow the precautions in the Food and Agriculture Code for keeping dangerous dogs

Contact Stockton personal injury attorney to discuss your case

If you or someone close to you has suffered a personal injury related to a dog bite, it’s important to protect your rights. Contact Stockton personal injury attorney at The Friel Law Firm as soon as possible. Our personal injury attorney will evaluate your case and determine the best legal actions to take. Call (209) 464-8000 for a free consultation today.