In your daily life, you might not expect to be on the wrong end of a dog bite. You might own a dog or interact with dogs in public without incident.
Dog bites can present serious risks and cause injuries. A bite can even affect your ability to live and work normally in the future. When this happens, a knowledgeable personal injury attorney could help you pursue compensation from the dog’s owner. A King of Prussia dog bite lawyer can explain Pennsylvania’s laws on dog bites and how you can file a lawsuit.
Injuries from a dog bite can vary depending on the dog’s size and breed. Some dogs bites are strong enough to break bones and sever appendages like fingers. Any bite could lacerate the skin and bruise muscle and organs. Dog bites can also get infected when the skin is broken, adding a layer of risk on top of the pain.
Per 3 Pennsylvania Statutes § 459-502, a dog who bites someone must be immediately confined, and the owner must pay the full cost of medical treatment, no questions asked.
Injured people seeking more damages such as lost wages, pain and suffering, or medical bills as a result of the bite need to bring a negligence action against the dog’s owner. A negligence claim seeks to show that someone’s unreasonable action, or lack of action, caused injuries to another person.
Negligence usually involves showing that the person at fault owed a duty of care to another, the duty was breached by unreasonable behavior, and the breach directly caused injuries, expressed as damages. In the case of a dog bite, those damages will no longer include medical costs but can still include the other damages mentioned.
Proving negligence involves evaluating the actions of the dog’s owner, including whether they took reasonable precautions to protect others from their dog’s bite. A King of Prussia dog bite lawyer could collect evidence to support a claim of negligence, including whether the dog was restrained properly and any prior complaints or warnings about the dog’s aggressiveness.
Beyond the basics of negligence and the guarantee that the owner of a dog that bites will pay medical expenses, a few other rules apply to people who want to file a lawsuit.
The statute of limitations prevents injured people from bringing a lawsuit too long after a dog bite. Under 42 Pa. Con. Stat. Ann. § 5224, personal injury suits must be brought within two years of the injury. Injured parties who fail to sue by the deadline lose the right to bring the claim.
The state uses a system known as comparative negligence, which assigns fault for injuries in percentages to anyone involved, including the injured person. When the injured person is partially responsible for their injuries, their compensation will be lowered proportionally. They could be barred from recovery under 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 7102 when they are more than 50 percent responsible for their injuries.
Provocation of the dog or trespassing are two examples of comparative negligence in a dog bite case. Ignoring signs warning of the danger of a dog or otherwise acting unreasonably in a dog’s presence could also be evidence of comparative negligence, so an injured person’s should discuss the circumstances that led to a dog bite with a lawyer in King of Prussia before bringing a claim.
A dog bite might seem self-explanatory: the dog bit you, and the owner did not prevent it, so they should pay your medical costs.
Unfortunately, even a clear-cut case could become complicated during a lawsuit. A King of Prussia dog bite lawyer could help you prove the dog’s owner should be responsible for your damages and that you did not cause your own injuries. Call today to schedule a free consultation.
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