 |
| |
Dog Bite Liability Claims and Other Animal-Related Injury Claims...
Dog bite liability claims are the most common
animal-related personal injury cases.
Most other pets are kept
indoors or can do little damage. If you've been injured
by another type of animal then chances are it isn’t someone’s pet.
As
such there is no one to
make a claim against.
Despite common
belief, most dog attack victims don't have easy cases.
Dog bite liability claims aren't easy to win. There are only a few
states with laws
in which the animal’s owner is responsible for anything their pet does.
In almost all
states the laws make it clear that if the owner could not
have foreseen the incident it is not their responsibility.
Dog attack victims must show that the
owner should have been aware of a
potential danger. If there were previous cases where the
same dog attacked other people, your case will be much easier to win.
If the dog caused injury by jumping on you or
rushing you in a way that made you fall back then you have to
show that the
dog generally behaves in that manner.
Sometimes it's
enough to show that that particular breed of dog is prone to making
attacks. If the breed is a dog most likely to bite, presenting
statistics may help your case.
In any dog bite liability case, and with any other animal, if
the owner was aware that their pet could do harm then they
should have been more careful. As such their insurance should pay
damages.
Dog bites aren’t the only way a pet can cause personal
injuries. An animal running on the loose can dart into the road and
cause a car
accident. In these cases your job is to show that the owner
should have had better control of their pet.
If you determine
that you are able to go ahead with a claim then you'll most likely be
claiming under the dog owner's Homeowners
Insurance.
If the animal was owned by a
company — a pet store being a good example — then the owner’s Business Liability Insurance
is where you'll make your claim.
Cases
that are somewhat common outside of cities are
accidents and injuries caused by farm animals. The
same concepts apply in these cases.
Differences come into play when the farm animal gets away from the
controlled area. If the animal does property
damage then the owner is
responsible because they should have had it better contained.
On the
other hand, for example, if there were posted signs indicating animals
will
regularly be crossing the street and a driver still hit the animal, it
would be more likely that the driver is liable for the animal’s
injuries.
Return
from Dog Bite Liability to Lawsuit
Settlements
Return
from Dog Bite Liability to the Personal
Injury Settlement Guide
The accuracy of information on this site is not guaranteed. Information on this site is strictly opinion and should not be considered formal legal advice. Under no circumstances should the information on this site be used to make decisions about the proper course of a legal matter. Click below to read our full User Agreement, Disclaimer and Copyright Information.
|
|
