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Dog Bite Claims

Dog Bite Claims

Dog Bite Claim – Personal Injury Support Services-lexhawk.com

The Center for Disease Control estimates that 4.5 million people in US are bitten by dog each year and 885000 required medical attention or treatment.  Dog attack accounts for 1/3rd of the home insurance claims filed every year, of which many ends in lawsuits seeking damages. The main theory that governs a dog bite is strict liability and one-bite rule.

 Most states impose strict liability laws with regard to dog bites. Strict liability makes an owner of a dog liable for any bite regardless of the owner's prior knowledge of the dog's tendency to bite or regardless of whether the owner showed actual negligence or fault. However, intentional provocation of a dog can be used to defend an owner's liability. Few other defenses are trespass by the victim, or the victim was a veterinarian who was treating the animal at the time of incident, or the incident happened when the victim was committing a felony or other crime against the owner.

In other states, the "one bite rule" determines whether the owner of a dog can be held legally liable for injuries caused by the dog. Owner’s liability is dependent upon owner’s knowledge of the dog’s dangerous or vicious propensities. Prior to twentieth century, owner was only held liable if the owner had reason to know the dog might bite. It is called the “one bite” rule since the rule generally shielded the owner from civil liability to the first victim of the dog – one free bite. However, in modern times, an owner could be held liable, if the owner knew that the particular breed was dangerous, or knew that the dog might bite based on its general character or recent incidents, and failed to take necessary precautions based on such knowledge.

A successful claim could include medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and property damages. Sometimes, punitive damages could also be claimed by showing that owner was not merely negligent, but was reckless or intentionally incited the injury.

 Dog bite laws varies from state to state and different states handle dog bite cases in different ways. We are experts in all personal injury matters and are familiar with the dog bite laws in all 50 states and are capable of researching on applicable statutes and judicial verdicts, intake filling and drafting of demand letters as required which would ultimately help attorneys in US to focus more on filing a valid and substantial claim.

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