What Now? After The Dog Bite Attack
While dogs are valued members of families, and they're often the best friends one could ask for, there are also cases where dogs will attack.
If you have been the victim of a dog bite attack, whether it was from a dog you know or from a nameless, vicious dog there are certain steps you need to take for both your safety and your ability to seek compensation.
1.
Record the Incident While no one carries around a camcorder in the event of an attack by dog, it is important to have evidence of what happened.
Get a picture of the dog if possible, and make a report to the police about what happened.
Make sure that the dog bite is photographed before and after treatment, and get a copy of any and all records made by medical professionals.
2.
Get Information About The Dog It's important to get as much information about the dog as possible whenever there's been a dog bite attack.
While a description is important, it's equally important to find out if the dog is owned by anyone and if so where those people live.
If the dog has a record as a vicious dog then the police will be aware of that as well.
It's a good idea to keep a journal in the days and weeks after an attack in order to keep one's thoughts in a concrete format.
3.
Seek Compensation Once you've been treated for any dog bite injuries and there's no danger of serious harm coming to you the next step is to seek out some kind of compensation.
While contacting the owners of the dog might be risky, there are occasions where this will be a simple, out-of-court action.
In the case where the owners refuse to do anything regarding the attack by dog except to offer an apology it will be necessary for you to seek out an attorney.
This is why it's so important to document the incident as thoroughly as possible.
If it turns out that there was no provocation then it's very likely the dog owners will have to pay for the attack on someone else.
As with any other kind of personal injury case though, a dog bite can take several years to work its way completely through the court system.
That's why it's important to be prepared for a long case, if one is seriously seeking compensation.
If you have been the victim of a dog bite attack, whether it was from a dog you know or from a nameless, vicious dog there are certain steps you need to take for both your safety and your ability to seek compensation.
1.
Record the Incident While no one carries around a camcorder in the event of an attack by dog, it is important to have evidence of what happened.
Get a picture of the dog if possible, and make a report to the police about what happened.
Make sure that the dog bite is photographed before and after treatment, and get a copy of any and all records made by medical professionals.
2.
Get Information About The Dog It's important to get as much information about the dog as possible whenever there's been a dog bite attack.
While a description is important, it's equally important to find out if the dog is owned by anyone and if so where those people live.
If the dog has a record as a vicious dog then the police will be aware of that as well.
It's a good idea to keep a journal in the days and weeks after an attack in order to keep one's thoughts in a concrete format.
3.
Seek Compensation Once you've been treated for any dog bite injuries and there's no danger of serious harm coming to you the next step is to seek out some kind of compensation.
While contacting the owners of the dog might be risky, there are occasions where this will be a simple, out-of-court action.
In the case where the owners refuse to do anything regarding the attack by dog except to offer an apology it will be necessary for you to seek out an attorney.
This is why it's so important to document the incident as thoroughly as possible.
If it turns out that there was no provocation then it's very likely the dog owners will have to pay for the attack on someone else.
As with any other kind of personal injury case though, a dog bite can take several years to work its way completely through the court system.
That's why it's important to be prepared for a long case, if one is seriously seeking compensation.
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