When you or a member of your family suffers a dog bite, your first course of action should be to seek medical attention. Your second task is to seek a personal injury attorney. Unless you or the bitten person has medical training, you cannot afford to take a dog bite lightly. You also have a civic duty to report the dog. Further, you have a financial duty to your family to protect yourself by getting a personal injury attorney for several very good reasons.
1. Medical Expenses
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report that the dogs in our country inflict over 4.5 million bites per year. One in five bites cause injuries needing medical attention, ranging from a quick ER visit to repeated rounds of reconstructive surgery. With nearly 900,000 dog bites needing medical services, families are hit with financiel burdens:
- Ambulance services
- ER physicians’ groups- these bills are commonly hospitals and not all expenses are covered by health insurance plans.
- Hospitals
- Laboratory fees- which include: X-rays, MRIs, blood work and other testing on the bite victim
- Specialists’ fees-plastic surgeons, orthopedic surgeons, psychologists, psychiatrists, and others
2. Lost Income A personal injury attorney can help you recover from lost income due to missed employment while dealing with a dog bite. If a working adult is bitten by someone else’s dog, the extent of injury may make work unbearable. If a child or elderly family member is bitten, the ensuing medical appointments may force a parent or caregiver to miss work. Sometimes these appointments may only take a few weeks; other, more serious medical treatment may stretch for months. Personal injury attorneys can recover damages equivalent to the lost wages and get legal evidence from your employer that outlines the days of missed work, the reason, the wages lost, and more.
3. Insurance
Insurance adjusters are unlikely to adequately compensate a dog bite victim for the full range and scope of trauma. A personal injury attorney can also be the intermediary between you and the dog owner’s insurance company, saving you countless headaches and interruptions by telephone and in person. When you or a family member under your protection suffers from a dog bite, you have a responsibility to ensure the best care, the quickest action, and the most secure outcome. Hiring an attorney to protect your rights and financial stability after a dog bite is not a luxury. Hiring a personal injury attorney is a necessity. If you have questions or if you have a case that involves a dog bite, contact a lawyer at Edwards and Kautz to discuss it. We can be reached at 270-908-4914 or by filling out a form on our website.