Dog Bites Cause Serious Injury And Harm To Thousands Each Year - Get The Compensation You Deserve

According to the CDC, each year almost four and a half million people are bitten by dogs, and almost half of them are children.

Roughly 880,000 people bitten by dogs are hurt badly enough to need medical treatment and in 2013 38 people were killed by dogs with ages ranging from just 21 months old to 65 years old. And it was not just young children and elderly; several adults in their prime were killed by dogs as well.

While causes of such terrible attacks are not always clear, the laws governing liability are.

Dog owners are almost always liable for an attack from their dog regardless of any known or unknown visciousness observed in the dog.

A few exceptions may be if the dog was under the care of another such as a grooming service or vet while the attack occurred, or the dog/s in question were not owned, or if they fall under Florida's “beware of dog” sign exception. In the case of an attack by stray dogs the property owner may still be liable for the damages as well.

The conditions surrounding an attack can vary widely from a random accident, to one involving a dog owners' who have a history of developing aggressive behavior in powerful breeds of dogs, to public or commercial property owners who have not controlled stray dogs on property they are responsible for. Whatever the reasons or circumstances for the attack, in many cases the damages inflicted by a dog bite are covered by the property owners insurance policies. Even if the property owner was not properly insured, they can be found liable and made to pay compensation for damages.

As Florida is a statutory strict liability state, the victim of a dog bite can recover financial compensation.

However, there may be some protection for dog owners if the attack happens on the dog owner's property and the victim is older than 6 years of age and most importantly, the dog owner has posted highly visible signs that warn visitors about the dog. Also the amount of liability of the dog owner is responsible for may be reduced if the victim of the dog attack also behaved in a negligent fashion. In some cases if the victim was partially to blame for the dog attack then the percentage of liability of the dog owner may be reduced.

As with other premises liability cases, claimants suffering from dog bites pursuing financial compensation will require a detailed investigation by an experienced personal injury law firm to develop an effective case.

Attorney Brian O. Sutter has been representing Florida's injured for more than 30 years including those injured by dog attacks, and has the experience to take a case to trial if needed.

Protect your rights and interests, contact All Injuries Law Firm today for your free case review.