Dog Bite Injuries Can Be Costly and Entitle You to Compensation 

According to data published by the CDC, over 4.7 million dog bites happen each year in the United States. Children aged 4-9 years of age are most at risk when it comes to dog bite injuries. Whatever the age of the individual bitten by a dog, the CDC estimates that 1 in 5 dog bite injury victims will require emergency medical care. 

Under Florida Statute Ch. 767.04 titled “Dog owner’s liability for damages to persons bitten,” the owner of a dog will be liable for the damages caused by a bite injury when: 

• The person bitten was in a public place 
• The victim was lawfully in a private place 
• This includes the private property of the owner of the dog 

This means that as long as a person was not trespassing and breaking the law, the dog owner will be liable for the damages of the bite. 

However, when it comes to children, the situation is different. Children are not considered rational actors by the court, as they do not have the reasoning ability to understand the consequences of their actions. This is why both dog owners and property owners, as we’ll discuss below, must take extra care to keep children safe from hazards. 

Dog Bite Injury FAQs

How Much is My Dog Bite Injury Worth? 

A dog bite injury is a personal injury, and a personal injury claim is worth what the evidence can prove the related costs and damages will be. Generally, the main parts of a personal injury claim are medical expenses, lost wages while recovering, lost earnings potential due to any lingering disability, lost enjoyment of life, and potentially pain and suffering. 

Your medical costs are measured through first the emergency room bills, then through follow-up opinions to measure and predict the future medical costs associated with your injuries. This includes any ongoing treatment, rehabilitation, surgeries, medications, and other medical necessities from the time of your injury through the remainder of your life. 

What Does a Personal Injury Lawyer Do For My Dog Bite Case? 

The purpose of collecting damages for your dog bite injury or other personal injury is to be put in as close a position as possible as though the accident has not happened. When your finances change due to medical costs and an impact on your ability to work, compensation is meant to make up for that. If your injuries will lead to a loss of enjoyment in life and ongoing pain and suffering, you can also collect compensation for those negative changes in your life. 

Your personal injury handles your entire claim, which begins with collecting evidence to accurately and completely measure the costs and damages linked to your injury. To collect, it must be proven that the other party was negligent. Your attorney will collect evidence in support of your case and carefully assess the unique facts and circumstances that led to your injury to identify the liable party. 

How Much Will My Personal Injury Lawyer Cost? 

Your initial consultation is risk-free and cost-free, and we only get paid if we win on your case. You’ll pay nothing up-front, and nothing out-of-pocket, ever. This is because we take personal injury cases on contingency, which means that we only get paid if we win, out of a portion of the earnings that we’ll agree upon before getting started. 

During your free initial case assessment, we’ll collect some basic information about your injuries and the accident that caused them. From there we’ll be able to determine if we can take your case. If we can, we’ll discuss how our attorney-client relationship works, answer any questions you might have, and when we are in agreement we’ll get moving on your case. Working with a personal injury attorney helps to ensure that you collect the amount of compensation to which you are entitled while removing the stress of the complex and time-consuming claims process from your day-to-day life.