What to Know if You've Been Injured by a Dog
If you've recently been attacked by another person's pet dog, you may have lasting injuries that affect your ability to work and meet your other obligations. Even if you can recover, medical expenses and the mental and physical pain can have a lasting effect on your quality of life.
In Massachusetts, there are laws in place to help you get compensation from the owner of the pet. In many cases, a dog owner is fully or at least partially responsible for the actions of their pets. Here's what you need to know about the laws that protect you and how you can use them to get the compensation you need.
Bites and Injuries
Fortunately, dog attack victims have extensive protection under the law. You can collect damages from a dog's owner for:
- Bite injuries. Even if the bite injury occurred on private property, you are still protected.
- Other injuries that are not bites. For example, if a large dog runs up to a small child and knocks the child down, causing a concussion or broken bones, you can still sue for injuries.
- Property damage. Dogs can also cause harm to personal items during an attack. These can be included in your claims for damages. You can claim damages for a dog who injures your livestock, your family pets, your fence, or any other valuables. Even extensive chewing on household items could be covered in your suit.
It's important for you to document your injuries as soon as possible after the attack. If the victim was a young child, a parent or guardian should document injuries and all doctor visits.
Liability Issues
There are some restrictions on liability that you should be aware of before filing a personal injury case. Generally, the dog owner will not be held liable for your injuries if:
- You were trespassing on private property. Only invited or expected guests can expect to receive compensation.
- You were taunting, injuring, or otherwise abusing the dog. If you provoked the dog by poking, growling, kicking, or other aggressive actions, the attack cannot be the fault of the owner.
- You were committing another type of civil wrong at the time. If you're responsible for some other type of tort (such as trespass), your suit may have no legal grounds. Examples of other civil wrongs include intentional infliction of emotional distress, invading privacy, fraud, defamation, or conversion. If these factor into the attack in any way, it weakens your case.
Fortunately, the state extends special protection to dog bite victims who are young children. The above defenses do not apply to children under age seven. It does not matter if the child was baiting the animal, trespassing, or yelling insults; the owner of the dog will usually always be responsible for injuries to children.
It's understood that a dog owner assumes the risk and responsibility for the safety of children when he or she adopts a pet. Appropriate caution, such as kenneling the animal when children are near, and keeping the dog on a leash, is the prerogative of the dog handler.
If the dog's handler is a child or minor teenager, usually the parents will be held responsible for the injuries of the victim, even if the parents were not present during the time of attack.
In some states, owners are only responsible for injuries if they were aware their pets had a tendency for violence or skittish behavior. Allowing a dog with a violent past to injure someone constitutes negligence. Massachusetts has stricter laws; it does not matter if a dog has a violent history or not. All owners assume the risk of attack with even the gentlest breed of dog.
Limitations
Like many personal injury lawsuits, there is a statute of limitations on dog bite injury cases. You must file your case within three years of injury. Because injuries become harder to document and prove the longer you wait, it's best to contact a personal injury attorney as soon as you can after the incident.
With longer documentation time and better representation, your chances of greater compensation increase with prompt action.
Compensation
The amount of compensation greatly depends on the age of the victim, the extent of the injury and damage, and the circumstances surrounding the attack. Lost wages, medical bills, and lost property are easily quantifiable, and therefore they are the easiest damages to recover.
However, compensation for pain and suffering, and well as punitive charges, are less easy to predict. The greater the injury, the larger the payment for pain and suffering. Juries may be more sympathetic to children, because injuries can have lasting effects on their futures, including physical scarring and emotional damage.
Injuries that affect your future quality of life can also receive higher compensation. Nerve damage to your dominant hand, for instance, reduces your ability to write well, cook your own meals, or participate fully in sports and recreation.
For more information about filing a personal injury claim for dog-inflicted injuries, contact us at Clearfield & Associates.