A morning jog around the neighborhood or an afternoon at the playground with your children can come to a terrifying halt because of an animal attack. While most dogs are friendly and non-aggressive, a single encounter with a dog that doesn’t share these traits can result in disaster. Even a normally docile dog can attack if they feel threatened.
If you or a loved one has been injured by a dog bite or animal attack, contact Zinda Law Group for a free consultation with an experienced dog bite lawyer in El Paso. Our El Paso personal injury lawyers have a long history of helping those bitten by dogs and other victims recover the compensation they need from the liable party.
What to Do After a Dog Bite
When dealing with the aftermath of a dog bite or animal attack, it is critical to take legal action as soon as possible. Your first priority is receiving any necessary medical treatment following the dog bite. If your injuries from the dog bite are serious enough, you may also end up admitted to the hospital, unable to work or fulfill other obligations for a duration of time.
Your dog bite accident may lead to significant medical bills and other expenses such as lost wages. If your insurance will not cover all of these costs or you do not have insurance, you may need to file a lawsuit to recover the expenses to which you are entitled.
Contacting an experienced and reliable El Paso dog bite attorney to recover your costs and any awardable damages is strongly recommended.
CASE RESULTS
For a free legal consultation with a dog bite lawyer serving El Paso, call 800-863-5312
Negligence
Texas allows a person to seek compensation when the dog owner is negligent. To prove dog owner negligence, your lawyer will work to show that:
- The person at fault owned the dog
- The person at fault had a duty of care toward you to ensure that the dog does not bite you
- The person at fault breached their duty of care by failing to prevent the dog from biting you
- You were injured as a result of that breach on the part of the dog owner
For example, in many parks, dogs must be within sight of and in sound control of owners at all times, and a dog in heat must not be allowed in off-leash areas. If you are in an off-leash area and an owner who is aware their dog is in heat lets their dog off their leash, and their dog bites a person, the owner may be deemed negligent and liable for the injuries.
Dog Bite in El Paso lawyers near me 800-863-5312
Filing a Dog Bite Lawsuit
Several steps are taken to file a dog bite lawsuit after you have spoken to your attorney. These steps include:
- Investigation
- Negotiation
- Settlement
Investigation
Your attorney will proceed to investigate your case. In doing so, they will likely speak with witnesses and compile photographic and other physical evidence. Discovering whether the dog has been violent in the past will likely require a lot of investigative research, which can be quite costly if you do not have certain research tools at your disposal.
Negotiation
Once your attorney has investigated your claim and built the strongest case possible for you, they will proceed to negotiate with the other side in an attempt to agree on a settlement figure for you.
Insurance companies are notoriously skilled negotiators, and without the negotiating experience an attorney will have, you may be coaxed into settling for less than what your case is worth. Luckily, your attorney is just as experienced as they are and will drive settlement talks with your best interests in mind.
Settlement
The majority of dog bite claims do not reach a courtroom, as they get settled beforehand. If your case does proceed to trial, your attorney will be by your side to ensure that the settlement you deserve is sought for you.
Free Consults24/7
Send Request NowClick to contact our Texas Dog Bite Lawyer today
Choosing a Lawyer After an Animal Attack
When it comes to hiring a dog bite lawyer to take on your case, you will want to research and explore your options. You should look for an injury lawyer who has experience with dog bites and animal attack cases in the area of El Paso.
By doing so, you will have the best chances of success when it comes to receiving fair compensation for your medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other related expenses as well.
Complete a Free Case Evaluation form now
How Much Is My Case Worth?
Dog bite compensation is typically determined by combining economic and non-economic damages. “Damages” refers to losses that you have sustained as a result of the attack.
Economic Damages
These damages include any bills you have had to pay or money you have lost because of your injury. For instance, medical bills, lost wages, and loss of future earnings are all economic damages.
Non-Economic Damages
These damages, on the other hand, are based more on the pain and suffering you have endured as a result of the dog bite incident.
If a child sustains a facial injury, their non-economic damages may be quite large, as they might have to deal with ridicule and stress from facial scarring that they otherwise would not have had to deal with had the bite not happened.
If the dog bite is especially gruesome, or the injuries severely impact your enjoyment of life, this might also affect the amount of non-economic damages you may receive.
Can I Get Compensation for a Dog Bite?
This will depend on the facts of your case. A person may seek compensation when it can be proven that the dog owner knew of the dog’s aggressive tendencies, the dog had bitten somebody before, and the dog owner was negligent in letting the dog bite you.
If these criteria are met, and you sustained a physical injury that led you to lose money by way of medical bills and other expenses, then you may have a case against the dog owner.
Other factors include the date of the accident and if you were trespassing. If the bite happened more than two years ago, it may be barred from moving forward as it would fall outside the Texas Statute of Limitations. If you were trespassing on another person’s property and were bitten by their dog, this may exclude you from making a claim.
How Long do I Have to File a Dog Bite Claim?
In El Paso, you have two years to file a dog bite case, as per the Texas Statute of Limitations. Failing to do so in the two years could mean that you would be forever barred from bringing legal action. The clock typically starts running on those two years from the date when the dog bite occurred.
After a dog bite, you are likely focused on treating your injuries and getting back to work. Therefore, while two years may sound like plenty of time, it can go by quickly.
Furthermore, evidence in dog bite cases can easily be lost or destroyed. Witnesses may forget the incident, and the dog owner may move and be difficult to track down. If you speak with an attorney early on, you may still be able to focus on getting better while the attorney focuses on seeking the compensation you deserve.
Our El Paso Dog Bite Attorneys Can Help
By working with an El Paso dog bite injury lawyer from Zinda Law Group, you can always expect the highest level of dedication during your case. And as one of our clients, you will pay us nothing unless we win your animal attack case.
If you have been injured in an animal attack, we are ready to get started helping you recover the compensation you need and deserve through a free consultation with one of our skilled El Paso dog bite lawyers. Meetings with attorneys by appointment only.
Our Awards
AWARDED TO JOHN C. (JACK) ZINDA BY THE NATIONAL TRIAL LAWYERS ASSOCIATION (2016-2020)
AWARDED TO JOHN C. (JACK) ZINDA (2009, 2011-2012, 2014-2021), & NEIL SOLOMON (2020-2021)
AWARDED TO JACK ZINDA (2016-2020)
LIFETIME MEMBERS JOHN C. (JACK) ZINDA
Five Mistakes to Avoid in a Dog Bite Injury Case
When pursuing compensation after a dog bite, there are many mistakes you can make that can harm your case without you even realizing it. Knowing the common errors that are made in these types of cases is the easiest way to avoid them.
1. Not Pursuing a Claim
The biggest mistake dog bite victims make is failing to pursue a claim entirely. This mistake might result from the victim not realizing they have the right to claim damages. Dog owners are liable for their pets’ actions, regardless of whether the animal has displayed aggressive tendencies in the past.
2. Not Hiring an Attorney
Another mistake victims make is not consulting a personal injury lawyer with experience in dog bite injury cases. Hiring an experienced lawyer is essential to ensure you understand the law as it applies to your case and are aware of the options you have moving forward.
3. Interviewing Witnesses Incorrectly
When interviewing witnesses, it is essential to ask the right questions to ensure that their testimony is specific and useful. For example, a witness describing a dog attack as “scary” won’t help your case nearly as much as if they detail exactly how the dog behaved (barking, growling, lunging, showing teeth, etc.)
4. Failing to Get Medical Treatment
A doctor can assess your injuries and can note the difference between a quick bite and sustained clamping and tearing of skin, tissues, and muscles. This can affect the amount of compensation deserved for pain and suffering and is necessary to determine the extent of the injury and the amount of the victim’s future medical expenses.
5. Settling Too Soon
One major mistake you must avoid is accepting a settlement deal before you understand the full length of the damages you incurred. It is critical to wait until the victim knows all the injury costs, such as plastic surgery, physical and emotional therapy, loss of income, etc., before discussing or accepting a settlement.
Use Caution When Dealing With Insurance Companies After a Dog Bite in El Paso
When dealing with an insurance company after suffering an injury, caution is key. It is critical that you remember that these companies are in the business of making money, not spending it. Insurers will go to great lengths to deny or devalue your claim.
Insurance adjusters have a whole book of tricks they will employ in an effort to pay you as little money as possible. If you aren’t careful, you could easily miss out on the compensation to which you are entitled.
The best way to protect yourself against these companies is by declining to speak with them until you have secured the services of an experienced dog bite attorney. By hiring a lawyer, you will force the insurer to go through your legal representative, preventing them from using the tactics they would normally employ against you.
Common Types of Dog Bite Injuries
Dog bites can cause deep and painful puncture wounds, internal bleeding, broken bones, partial or complete loss of fingers, toes, or other body parts, and, in some cases, even death.
Moreover, dogs that are infected with rabies can transmit this disease to humans. Rabies is a treatable disease, but the treatment takes time and resources and must be initiated quickly after a bite.
While the majority of dog breeds are not inherently aggressive, the fact remains that any dog that feels scared or threatened could attack. Often, the victims of these attacks are innocent children and others who just so happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Types of Dog Bite Lawsuits
Dog bite cases are typically personal injury lawsuits. These cases can range from incredibly mild injuries to severe, life-threatening ones. The different types of cases often involve how aware the dog owner was of their dog’s aggressive tendencies and what precautions they took (if any) to prevent the attack.
Most lawsuits will either be based on a “One Bite” rule or “Strict Liability Rules.” El Paso follows Texas Dog Bite Laws, and Texas is a “One Bite” law state. To seek compensation, your attorney will work to prove that the owner knew that the dog had bitten somebody before or had shown aggressive tendencies in the past or that they were negligent and failed to control their dog.
For example, if you were walking down the street, and a neighbor’s dog ran from their garden and bit you, your lawyer would work to prove that the owner knew the dog was aggressive or had bitten somebody and that the dog owner was negligent by letting the dog roam free without restraint which led to the bite.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What are the dog bite laws in Texas?
- Why should you hire a lawyer when bitten by a dog?
- What should you do after a dog bite?
- How do you prove negligence after a dog bite?
- What are the dog bite statistics for the U.S. in 2022?
hbspt.cta.load(21715417, ‘fd020f8d-c352-4d1c-b916-44d72de35b1a’, {“useNewLoader”:”true”,”region”:”na1″});
Why Choose Our Firm As Your El Paso Dog Bite Accident Lawyers
Our team of honest and aggressive injury attorneys will fight to help you get the compensation you need to get back on your feet. We offer free consultations 24/7 and never collect a fee unless we win your case, so there is no risk in contacting us.
If you were bitten by a dog in El Paso, our personal injury lawyers at Zinda Law Group can help you pursue the compensation you deserve. Contact us for your free consultation today, and we can help you form a plan for your case. You can also call us to make an appointment to visit our El Paso office, located at 2300 George Dieter Dr, El Paso, TX 79936.
Please note that in-office visits are by appointment only.
Call or text 800-863-5312 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form