Dog Bite Injuries

Dog bite injuries in New York are sometimes very good cases. An owner of a dog is responsible to make sure that their dog does not bite anyone else. It’s an obligation if you want to own a dog in the state of New York. Our issue on liability is whether or not the dog has vicious propensities, and that usually boils down to whether or not the dog has bit someone in the past or has a tendency to be vicious, whether or not the owner knew or should’ve known that the dog would bite.
If you are bit by a dog in someone else’s home, the first thing you should do, other than getting medical attention, is find out whether or not that dog has had its rabies shot and is up to date on its shots, because your doctor will need to know that information. If not, you’re going to be in for quite a few additional procedures that are not pleasant. In addition, you should get the information of any witnesses and take pictures if possible. The next step is to communicate with at attorney. Our office can help you evaluate your dog bite case and evaluate if there is an issue with vicious propensity.

However, even if this is the first bite, sometimes we can navigate through that liability issue and help you with your dog bite claim. As far as going after insurance companies, most homeowners’ insurance policies have provisions for dog bites, and we would simply make a claim against the insurance company alleging what we’ve learned from our client about the vicious propensities of the dog and the documented injury.

Things such as “Beware of Dog” signs or “Caution: Dog Here,” don’t hurt your liability. Those aren’t waivers of these claims. In fact, we can point to those as evidence that the owner knew the dog had vicious propensities. Even if you’re in a house that’s rented, the landlord can be held liable for allowing their tenant to have a dog in the house that has vicious propensities. Even if someone is walking their dog offsite of the premises and the dog bites you, you may be able to make a claim on the homeowners’ insurance policy. Assuming you’re in a scenario where there’s no insurance, we can also run an asset search on the owner of the dog and see if there’s any monetary claim that can be made against the owner individually.

The bottom line is these are very good claims in the state of New York, and you should meet with a personal injury lawyer who knows how to navigate dog bite injuries.