The parents of children bitten by dogs can seek help in paying the expensive medical bills they’ll face. Young victims should also receive additional support for the complications an injury may cause for a child in the coming years.
The dog owners can be held accountable for these hardships and others. To find out what your child’s bite injury is worth, contact Maison Law Accident & Injury Lawyers of Bakersfield for a free, no-obligation case review.
Who Is Responsible for My Child’s Dog Bite Injury?
In California, the dog owner is usually held responsible for any dog bite that occurs. Under the legal concept of “strict liability,” the dog owner is liable for the damages with little deliberation. The dog’s history doesn’t matter. The dog bite owner is accountable even if the dog has never bitten anyone before.
Parents also don’t have to show negligence in the case. They wouldn’t have to demonstrate that a dog owner was careless with a leash or had kept the dog in a fence that wasn’t strong enough. As long as a bite occurred, fault is usually pinned on the dog owner, as well as financial responsibility.
There are a few exceptions, but in many instances, they don’t apply to a case involving a child.
- Victims can’t usually sue and win if they were trespassing at the time of a bite. But young children generally wouldn’t be subject to this exception. A judge wouldn’t usually hold a curious child responsible for using poor judgment when entering a backyard or opening a porch door. It would still be up to the dog owner to prevent any interaction between a dog and a young visitor.
- Victims can’t usually file an injury claim and win compensation if they provoked the dog. This is another situation where a child might not be subject to the same criteria. Children can struggle to control themselves around a dog and may rush a cute animal to get a pet. The action can corner a pet, making the dog afraid or defensive. A judge usually wouldn’t hold a child liable for such an action. It would usually fall to an adult to keep a potentially dangerous interaction from happening. And usually the fault would fall to the dog owner.
In dog bite cases, the dog owner’s insurer would usually be liable for the medical bills and other expenses the parents faced. This might involve filing a claim against the owner’s homeowners or renters insurance provider.
A dog owner without this kind of insurance, or a policy that didn’t cover dog bites, could be sued directly to seek help with medical expenses.
A Bakersfield Dog Bite Attorney would fully investigate your child’s accident and collect evidence in case insurers tried to falsely blame you or your child for what happened. Then our attorneys would fight to get as much as possible in a settlement. A skilled attorney can often earn your child much more in financial security than you could by filing a claim yourself.
What If My Child Is Bitten by a Dog at a Friend’s Home?
Some bites on children can occur while they are out and about. A dog may be left to run free at a park like Seasons Park. They may have a dog on the loose chase them as they are riding a bike in a local neighborhood.
But plenty of accidents also happen in homes, often in a family member’s or a friend’s house. They may occur during a birthday party or a sleepover. A pet that may have been locked in another room or sent outside may be confused by a lot of new visitors, especially young ones. A dog that’s normally friendly and social feels threatened and lashes out.
Parents can usually seek financial help with recovery costs from the homeowner’s insurance coverage. It may feel like a betrayal of family or friends when filing an injury claim. But this isn’t how parents should look at it.
Homeowners pay their insurance premiums each month to protect themselves and victims in these instances. The claim also doesn’t directly target the family member; it’s the insurance company that will be responsible for paying out a settlement.
What Kind of Support Can My Child Receive for a Dog Bite Claim?
Young victims need adequate financial support to cover all of the current medical bills, but will also need financial resources for the future.
Children can end up with an infected wound and even contract diseases from a dog bite. This can prolong the healing of a wound. UCLA Health reports that child victims can come away with rabies or tetanus.
Child victims must be handled differently from adult victims in most personal injury cases. This is because a dog bite on a vulnerable child often has many more severe consequences and ramifications for the years ahead. Their tissue and bones aren’t as strong as those of an adult, and allow for much more serious injuries.
The effects of a broken bone can also flare up in their teen years, affecting their growth and development. Victims may require support to cover future surgeries and physical therapy.
Your attorney would account for all of these potential issues and demand the maximum in coverage in a dog bite settlement check. These and other hardships must be covered:
- Support to cover all medical bills for as long as care is required.
- Support for a lifetime if injuries result in a permanent disability or a permanent disfigurement.
- Support for the pain children are put through, and that may linger into adulthood.
- Support for the emotional trauma children endure, including developing irrational fear and reliving an encounter with a dog through PTSD.
- Support to replace the job income and benefits parents lose while they must take time off to care for a young victim.
- Support to cover the costs of travel to transport children to doctors’ appointments and to see out-of-town specialists.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long should I wait before filing a dog bite claim?
Parents have up to two years to file a claim on behalf of the child. But the child victim will have the opportunity to file a claim for many years. Children have their statute of limitations reset when they turn 18, getting two more years from that point to file a claim. In either case, victims should act quickly. Waiting can make it harder to secure valuable evidence. Locating a dog owner and witnesses may also become harder.
How will I afford to pay a dog bite lawyer while trying to cover my child’s hospital bills?
We understand that traumatic dog attacks leave parents emotionally and financially devastated. It’s why our Bakersfield lawyers don’t ask for any money up front if you hire us. Your lawyer doesn’t earn anything unless the case is won. If the case is lost, you don’t owe Maison Law Accident & Injury Lawyers of Bakersfield any money. If the case is successful, you still don’t have to find the money to pay us. Our fee is covered out of the settlement check that an insurance company must provide for your family.
Contact an Attorney Who Backs Your Child’s Dog Bite Claim with Evidence and Fights to Earn Them More
Our attorneys never want to see you struggling to pay medical bills after a dog bite incident involving your child. Those costs are the responsibility of the dog owner and their insurance providers. Our Bakersfield dog bite accident attorneys are ready to get aggressive with insurers who don’t immediately accept blame for a dog owner’s negligence.
If your child has a serious injury from a dog bite, contact Maison Law Accident & Injury Lawyers of Bakersfield to schedule a free consultation. It’s a confidential, no-obligation review of your case with a real dog bite lawyer.
We don’t stop fighting until you have a healthy and happy child again who can go outside without fear.