Negotiating Settlements In Dog Bite Cases: What Victims Should Expect

When a dog whether the dog is a stray dog or a pet dog bites a person or an animal is called a dog bite. Biting once by a dog is called a dog bite and more than once is called a dog attack. Biting by any dog cannot cause any type of injury but may cause infection, scratches, and any temporary disability in most cases but sometimes it can lead to permanent disability and even may lead to death as well. One cannot get any kind of compensation if got a bite from a stray dog but in the case of a pet dog a lawsuit settlement is given to that person if he/ she wants. Different countries have different rules for dog bite settlements. If you are in Utah and are filing a dog bite claim in Utah, then this post is for you.

If you or anyone whom you know is a victim of a dog bite and is clueless about how to seek a settlement for your injury with the help of the law then have a look at the below-mentioned steps:

1. Report Dog Bite
2. Consult Doctor For Injury
3. Gather Evidence Of Injury
4. Calculate Your Damages
5. Hire Personal Injury Attorney
6. Make Settlement Offer

1. Report Dog Bite:

First of all, report your dog’s bite to the owner of the dog. Informing the owner of the dog about the same is an essential part of the process as they should know about your injury. Show them the injured area as well as gather all the necessary information about the dog owner such as contact details, and address. Check out the dog’s vaccination certificates to know whether the dog’s medications are up-to-date, which helps you to analyze the risk of rabies and other medical concerns that may occur to you near future.

2. Consult Doctor For Injury:

The first and foremost thing after the dog bites you is to consult your doctor and get a proper examination of whether the injury is visible or not. Sometimes the wounds are very deep so to treat them there is a need for a proper medicinal course of a few weeks or months to recover from them same. If your injury is not visible, then also you need to seek a doctor’s consultation because a bite can cause skin infection because of the bacteria present in the mouth of the dog. So, to treat the same you need to get the medicines prescribed by your doctor. 

3. Gather Evidence Of Injury:

Gathering evidence of dog bites is a must because if you want to claim compensation, then you need the evidence. Evidence of your injury includes your injury photographs (videos if you have them), copies of the medical statements which you can get from your doctor, and a witness statement. You can get the witness statement from the person who was present at the time of the dog bite whether that person is your friend who was with you at that time, any neighbor of that dog owner, or any other random person who was witnessing that incident.

4.  Calculate Your Damages:

One thing you need to do after gathering all the evidence is to calculate your damages and the expenses you have spent on that whether that expense is related to your medical treatment (medicines, doctor consultation fees, and hospital stay bills) or other such as of you have to take leave from your work to get rest because of the injury.

5. Hire Personal Injury Attorney:

After all this process, you need to hire a well-reputed and professional personal injury attorney who will help you in getting your settlements legally. Your lawyer will help you in negotiating your fair settlement with the insurance company of the dog’s owner in the dog bite. All your evidence and the other documents are required from you by your lawyer to attach in the document to get the claims. The legal way of settling the claims is the right way to negotiate.

6. Make Settlement Offer:

First, discuss your settlement with your lawyer properly and prepare a proper demand letter to present to the insurance company. This letter will include all your damages and the suffering that happened to you because of dog biting. After getting the settlement offer, the opposite party may contact you to negotiate so your discussion with your lawyer regarding the same will help you to get the appropriate amount.

Conclusion:

Dog bite case settlement requires a step-by-step process from medication to get the claims. Getting help from a legal team is advisable for this process. Above mentioned points will help the victim to follow the step-by-step process of settling the claims in the dog bite case.

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