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Have you been seriously injured because of a dog attack? It is a horrible thing to have to go through, and we feel for your pain. Our Orlando dog bite lawyers can guide you through a claim to seek justice for your damages. Our accident attorneys support your journey to get a full and fair result. Please do not hesitate to call us as soon as you can to set up a free initial consultation. Justice is waiting, and we can make it easier on you.
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The first thing you should do after a canine attack is immediately seek medical attention. Dog bites can become infected and cause very significant injuries, so the most important thing is to get the medical care you need.
Once you’ve done that, you should contact a well-trained, knowledgeable, experienced trial attorney. That way, we can immediately get involved to investigate the case. We need to be able to preserve certain evidence that could be useful in proving your claim for the dog bite.
It is important to find someone who has experience and focuses on that particular area of law. There are many attorneys that are all over the map with the areas they practice. Here, we focus only on personal injury cases, and dog bite cases are included in the areas where we have a vast amount of knowledge and experience.
Secondly, you want to find a lawyer who’s not afraid to fight the insurance companies and prepare your canine attack case for trial. There are many attorneys out there who will take a case and work it up for settlement, but that’s not enough. The insurance company knows who those attorneys are, and they know those who will take a case to trial. We take every case and work it up as if it’s going before a jury to put pressure on the insurance company.
First, your Norden Leacox Accident & Injury Law legal team would collect the proper documentation for your case, such as medical records and bills, insurance policies, and more. This helps ensure that we have a solid foundation, context, and understanding of your injury and can effectively fight for the maximum compensation available in your dog bite case.
Our second step is to investigate on your behalf. Investigation is key in understanding the little details that can largely impact the value of a canine attack case. Investigation includes, but is not limited to, dashcam and security footage, police records, witness accounts, and more.
Lastly, we negotiate for you. Inside and outside of the courtroom, we negotiate with the defense to help you get the compensation you may be entitled to and deserve. Sometimes, negotiations may not be successful; at Norden Leacox Accident & Injury Law, we don’t back down. We are prepared to go to trial to present our strongest case on your behalf, and fight for justice.
The dangerous dog statute in Florida exists to protect victims from canines. A severe attack might lead the dog to be determined as dangerous under Florida law. The owner of this dog has to be very cautious and follow certain regulations. If that dog causes damage, its owner can be held criminally liable.
The owner must register the dog with their local law enforcement, keep it in a spot that is secure, and put signs on the property that warn of a dangerous dog. Furthermore, the dog has to be on a leash with a muzzle and a harness at all times.
A dog would be considered dangerous by an Orlando court if:
If you were attacked by a dangerous dog, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our Orlando lawyers.
If a dog attack occurs, its owner might be liable both in a civil and criminal case. Florida State law uses “strict liability” in canine attack cases, meaning a dog owner is going to be a liable party even if they had no idea the animal had aggressive tendencies.
Furthermore, state laws for dog attacks say that the victim does not have to prove whether the injuries they sustained were due to the dog owner’s negligence. Instead, state law says that the owner of the dog is going to be held responsible for the injuries the victim sustained from the attack as long as there is proof that the animal bit the victim, regardless of whether it occurred on public or private property.
If the incident wasn’t proved or happened under a different set of circumstances, you, as a victim, may still be able to bring a claim against the owner in a personal injury case. Our Orlando dog bite attorney are here to help you through it all.
In Orlando, the presence of a “Beware of Dog” sign could actually benefit your case, because it shows that the owner was aware of the animal’s dangerous propensity. That animal has likely shown aggression toward other individuals, and the homeowner or dog owner is clearly aware of that tendency. Our attorneys can work to prove that you didn’t do anything to provoke the dog to ensure a finding of strict liability.
If you were seriously injured by a dog, it is important to note that state law offers some reduction or elimination of liability for dog owners. Specifically, a dog owner may not be found liable, or found liable in a limited capacity, under the following circumstances:
Furthermore, you are likely going to have a harder chance of getting compensation for a dog bite case in Orlando if there were proper warning signs and security measures taken on the property to attempt to protect victims. That’s not to say you do not have a case, however.
Our lawyers can guide you through the details of your dog attack case and advise you on what next step you should be taking.
In a situation where the owner of the dog does not have insurance, it’s especially important to hire a lawyer to investigate the case in detail. While the dog owner might not have insurance, they may be renting the property from someone who does have insurance. What’s more, if the owner of that property was aware that this dog had bitten people in the past, we may be able to prove that the landowner who was renting the property to the dog owner had notice that this was a dangerous animal with a vicious propensity to injure others. Most people don’t realize this is an option.
It’s entirely possible for someone other than a dog’s owner to be liable for damages caused by a vicious canine, such as when an attack takes place in a rented home or apartment, and the apartment owner or homeowner had knowledge of the dog’s dangerous propensities. An attorney can investigate past records of that dog to find out whether there was notice and knowledge.
How long it takes to get a court date if we are forced to pursue the case into litigation depends on the unique, specific set of facts and the severity of the injuries in each canine attack case. Typically, if we have to go to trial, a dog bite case is going to take 18 to 24 months to resolve. If it’s a pre-suit case that we’re able to resolve without litigation, however, it could resolve in six to 10 months.
The severity of the injuries dictates how long medical treatment is required. If someone needs medical treatment for just a few weeks, their dog attack case will resolve very, very quickly. If someone needs medical treatment for months, possibly years, those cases take much longer. That’s why it’s important to hire an experienced, knowledgeable attorney.
There are a lot of factors that go into the value of a dog attack case, including the severity of the injuries, whether it left permanent scarring or disfigurement, whether the victim is afraid to go out in public, whether it has had a severe psychological effect on them.
The amount of medical bills and treatment required are factors that need to be considered, as well as whether there was time missed from work, if it’s impacted their ability to work in the future, if these are lifelong injuries versus an injury that eventually healed then went away. Because there are so many factors involved in determining the value of a canine attack case, it’s crucial to reach out and contact a knowledgeable, well-educated Orlando lawyer.
As a victim of a dog bite, you may be eligible for compensation under of one these legal claims:
If you have medical insurance, that will cover your injuries. If you don’t have insurance, however, that’s when you need to get a lawyer involved immediately, because the person who owns the dog is responsible for the injuries it caused. Hiring a lawyer to get involved immediately and put the at-fault party’s insurance on notice is extremely important.
If you were seriously harmed because of a vicious dog, please reach out to us as soon as you possibly can to get the best chance at full and fair compensation as possible. Our Orlando dog bite lawyers want to be your safeguard and help you fight for your rights. Call and set up your free initial consultation as soon as possible.
