What To Do After a Dog Attack

Suffering from an attack? If you need dog bite attorneys in Los Angeles, we can help.

Dog attacks are an unfortunate fact of life in the modern world, especially in Southern California, where a large number of dog bites occur each year. It is vitally important to know what you should do in the aftermath of such an attack.

If you or a loved one is bitten or attacked by a dog, the first and most important thing to do is seek immediate medical care. Your health is your top priority. Always follow all your physician’s instructions, especially if prescribed antibiotics.

This will not only ensure your personal health and healing stays on track as laid out by a trained medical professional, it will also help your case later on down the road. Dog bite cases are notoriously difficult and complex—disregarding a doctor’s orders doesn’t help you prove your case.

Documented details will help your dog bite attorney get you the compensation you deserve. The more documentation you have, the better a case your attorney can build.

Get all the information:

• Obtain as much information as possible when the attack occurs, especially the identity of the dog owner.
• You will also want to obtain the contact information of any witnesses or persons who had possession of the dog when it attacked. Take photos of the bite wounds before they are treated.
• Inform the doctor of the attack and ask him or her to document the resulting medical injuries.
• The next step is to make a report to the animal control organization in your municipality and cooperate fully with their investigation.

If contacted by the insurance company of the dog owner, be sure not to discuss who was responsible, and avoid discussing a settlement in any way. Insurance companies will always try to settle low and settle fast. Let your lawyer do the talking, or you may wind up with far less than you are owed, and your medical bills may come out of your own pocket rather than the responsible party’s insurance.

It is important to remember, too: preventing a dog attack is infinitely better than suing over a dog attack. It is much easier and less costly than having to deal with the consequences, legal battles and ongoing pain and trauma.

Inform your children:

• Approach strange dogs with care.
• Never startle or grab a dog.
• Never ignore a dog owner’s instructions or warnings.

Dog owners are at all times responsible for their dogs and should be held accountable in case of an attack, but for the sake of a lawsuit, you do not want to have done anything that could be seen as a provocation. The case might then be ruled in the dog owner’s favor.

Dog bite cases, contrary to popular belief, can be incredibly complex. You will need to contact an experienced personal injury attorney in Los Angeles to help you with your case.

If you’ve been bitten by a dog, call the Power Legal Group for a free case evaluation. We will do everything in our power to hold the owner of the offending dog accountable and get you as much payment in damages as possible, up to and including going to court.

800-323-POWER