What Is Dog Owners’ Liability If Their Pet Bites Someone?

Can someone that has suffered serious injuries, as the result of a dog bite, plan on suing the dog’s owner?

Questions for the Victim

Before a Personal Injury Lawyer in Windsor would take such a victim as a client, he or she would have some questions for the target of the dog’s teeth.

Had that victim/target come onto the property for legal reasons? Had he or she been invited to visit that spot?

Was he or she offering a service to the person that owned the canine with the tendency to bite strangers?

Had that victim/target provoked the dog in any way? Anything that seems strange might have the ability to provoke a canine pet. For instance, a parade of children wearing Halloween costumes could start a dog barking, allowing it to show its level of unease.

What sort of efforts had been utilized to work towards guaranteeing control of the dog’s movements? A flimsy leash tied to a tiny stake would not qualify as a good example of controlling a pet’s actions.

Should the dog owner/potential client have known about the dog’s tendency to bite? Owners that have such knowledge, or should have such knowledge, ought to put added effort into controlling their pet.

A final consideration for both the victim and the consulted attorney

How much time has passed since the date of the biting incident? How does that span of time compare with the amount of time that precedes the state’s deadline for filing a lawsuit? Most lawyers know that deadline, because it is part of the statute of limitations.

Every state has its own statute of limitations. Hence, the victim of a dog bite in one state might have longer for filing a personal injury lawsuit, than a victim of the same sort of attack, in another state.

No lawyer wants to take a case, if the potential client has failed to take any action, prior to the date for the recognized deadline. Lawyers want to enjoy the freedom to sue, if a charged party has failed to offer suitable terms, during negotiations. That fact should emphasize the need for all victims to see a doctor just as soon as possible. That action tends to prevent the overlooking of a deadline. At the same time, it delivers a second benefit.

It deprives the defense team from the chance to try a different tactic. Some defense lawyers like to claim that the plaintiff allowed the injury to get worse, because he or she had failed to see a doctor in a timely fashion. Victims that make a point of keeping their eyes on the calendar do not provide a defense lawyer with the ability to make that particular and unverified claim.