Dog Bite Lawyer

Today, we live in a society that is increasingly prone to litigation. Some people feel that pursuing financial compensation following a personal injury claim is distasteful. I would however take a different approach and argue that where an individual has suffered a personal injury, especially following a dog attack, pursuing the claim gives the irresponsible individual that caused the injury in the first place a good reason to change their ways.

All dogs can bite, this is a simple fact of life. However, increasingly in today's society there are many people in view dangerous and attack trained animal as a status symbol. These thugs and gang members are using these animals to attack and intimidate members of the public and prevent them from going about their daily duties. Attacks by dogs such as these can be particularly severe as the dogs are being trained over a long period to attack in the most vicious manner the warped mind of their owners could conceive of.

These dog attacks upon law-abiding members of the community have to stop.

Making these deranged individuals suffer a financial penalty for the actions of their animals is a small step towards ending this problem once and for all. It is for this reason that I would encourage anyone who has suffered a dog bite attack to pursue the owner of the animal with full legal vigour.

The Internet is a global phenomenon but unfortunately the law varies widely according to the land you are in. The fact that the law varies so much across the planet makes it impossible to give specific legal advice that would apply in all jurisdictions. I must therefore ask that the following advice be viewed from the point of view of providing educational information only and not legal advice that will be applicable to your particular case. It will always be in your best interests to seek help from a qualified legal practitioner.

Following a dog bite your first priority should always be to seek medical attention. Apart from the immediate risks involved with dog bites such as loss of the blood and the risk of infection there is also a later risk of going into shock. For this reason phoning the emergency services at the earliest opportunity is in your own best interests, especially if the bite is severe. There are however all the reasons are contacting the emergency services at the earliest opportunity and I will deal with them now.

If you wish to pursue a personal injury claim following a dog bite it is imperative that you determine who the owner of the dog is and their place of residence. The best people to assist you in determining are the police. The reason that I say this is first unscrupulous individuals will seek to avoid legal penalty by giving false addresses or other misleading information, the police are uniquely equipped to deal with this kind of misdirection. Do not merely assume that the individual who was in charge of the dog at the time you were attacked is the owner of the dog, especially if that individual is most likely under the age of legal responsibility. If you are unable to do so you should gather evidence at the scene of the attack. Mostly the process of doing this is just good common sense. Taking pictures using a camera phone is a great aid to memory, especially if at a later time you're asked to describe the dog or the dog's owner. While pictures from camera phones may not be admissible as evidence in a court they they can help you privately to recall events more thoroughly. A complement to this recall process is the taking of good old-fashioned pen and paper notes. The police have employed notebooks for many years and with good reason. Over time the memory fades and valuable details can be lost. If notes are taken close to the time of the offence most likely they will be accurate. These notes can help enormously in any future legal case.

Aside from gathering your personal evidence as an eyewitness to the attack it is also extremely important to gather any available physical evidence, or make certain that the police do so on your behalf. Examples of relevant physical evidence can include, but are not limited to, torn clothing or items with dog saliva or blood on them. Do not wash these items. Anyone who is familiar with crime shows such as CSI or similar will be aware that an individual human being can be traced by their DNA. A lesser-known fact is the individual animals can also be traced by the same methods. If the owner of the dog chooses to deny the fact that is animal has attacked you an item of clothing on which the dog's DNA is present, especially if it is present along with saliva, will help strengthen your case proves the fact that it was his dog that bit you.

This information is not designed to be an exhaustive list.

The variety of situations in which an individual can be bitten are far too many to cover in fullness. I sincerely hope that my comments in this area will help you to remember what are the necessary actions to complete following a dog attack.

Please also remember that the chances of you being involved in a fatal dog attack are actually vanishingly small. Also, that the vast majority of victims of even quite severe dog attacks often make complete recoveries. The media often exaggerated the real risk of being a victim of a dog attack for purposes of selling copy, please bear this in mind.

Personal injury compensation following a dog attack will not make the injuries go away, or lessen the psychological impact of the events. I would suggest however that pursuing your claim through the services of a good dog bite lawyer is a valid course of action for any responsible citizen. The reason I say this is because at the present time thugs, gang members, and other assorted criminals are using attack trained animals to molest ordinary members of the public. The harder it is to these individuals to employ these tactics and get away with them the less likely these dog attacks become.

Pursuing personal injury compensation following the dog bite attack using the services of a specialist dog bite lawyer is the best course of action both you and your community at large.