Spring Valley Dog Bite Lawyer
Every year, dogs bite millions of Americans. Some dog bites are little more than annoying. However, as outlined below, many of these incidents cause serious injuries. To balance the interests of pet owners, many of whom rescue animals with questionable temperaments, and victims, dog bite laws in Nevada are quite complex. Pet temperament is especially an issue in the post-coronavirus era. Many pets that were at home with their owners for almost a year have had a hard time being around strangers.
Many people adopted pets during the pandemic because it was a quick way to not feel as lonely. In contrast, a dedicated Spring Valley dog bite lawyer from Cameron Law never takes shortcuts and never takes the easy way out. Our team carefully collects evidence that supports your claim and refutes insurance company defenses. Additionally, although we usually settle injury claims out of court, we don’t accept anything less than the best possible result under the circumstances.
Dog Bite Injuries
Generally, like most other personal injuries, animal attacks in Clark County cause direct and indirect injuries.
When dogs lunge at victims, especially if a large mastiff dog, like a pit bull, lunges at a child victim, the knockdown often causes serious and permanent injuries, like broken bones and a head injury.
Unfortunately for victims, the direct physical injuries are just beginning at that point. When dogs bite, their teeth inflict deep puncture wounds as well as tearing lacerations. The deep puncture wounds often pierce blood vessels and internal organs, leading to excessive internal bleeding. Such bleeding is hard to spot and even harder to stop. Tearing lacerations usually require extensive reconstructive surgery. Even then, physical scars remain.
Mental scars remain as well. Most dog bite victims, especially young victims, experience Post Traumatic Stress Disorder-type symptoms, such as flashbacks and an unnatural fear of all dogs.
Moreover, dog bite wounds have very high infection rates. These infections are especially serious for people with certain medication allergies or pre-existing conditions. Usually, a Spring Valley dog & animal bite lawyer must file a separate claim against a negligent doctor or hospital to obtain compensation for infection-related injuries.
Spring Valley Dog & Animal Bite Lawyers and Liability Issues
Most states have a designated dog bite law. But the Silver State doesn’t have such a law. As a result, attorneys must wade through a hodgepodge of laws to obtain compensation for victims. Some possible legal theories include:
- Scienter (Knowledge): Animal owners are liable for bite damages if they knew their animal was potentially dangerous. Evidence on this point could include prior attacks against animals or people. Pre-bite behavior, like aggressive barking and vicious snarling, could be relevant as well.
- Ordinary Negligence: Basically, negligence is a lack of care. Compensation is available if a lack of care caused a dog bite injury. For example, it’s probably negligent for a schoolteacher to allow children to play near an unfamiliar animal.
- Negligence Per Se: Most cities have fence laws, leash laws, and similar animal restraint laws. If an owner violated such a rule, and that violation caused injury, the owner could be responsible for damages.
These damages usually include compensation for economic losses, such as medical bills, and noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering.
Comparative fault, which usually involves animal provocation, and assumption of the risk are the two most common defenses in dog bite cases.
In this conext, “provoking” is almost synonymous with “torturing.” Aggressive teasing cannot provoke an animal, as a matter of law. Instead, the victim must inflict so much pain on the animal that it had to react violently to defend itself.
Many owners display “Beware of Dog” and other warning signs. These signs don’t excuse negligence. They only make the assumption of the risk defense easier to prove. Basically, the insurance company must still establish, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the victim saw the sign, could read it, and could understand what it meant.
Contact a Dedicated Spring Valley Dog Bite Lawyer
Injury victims are usually entitled to substantial compensation. For a free consultation with an experienced Spring Valley dog & animal bite lawyer, contact Cameron Law. We do not charge upfront legal fees in these matters.
