Roseville Dog Bite Lawyer
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Roseville Dog Bite Attorney
Most people in the Roseville area have only positive experiences with the dogs they encounter in the area, and dogs are widely popular pets throughout the United States. However, it is possible for a dog to attack suddenly, causing tremendous injuries to a victim in a very short time. While some dogs have known histories of aggression and others are physically capable of inflicting massive trauma on a victim, ultimately, you can never predict when or why any dog might attack.
Experienced Legal Representation for Dog Bite Claims in Roseville, CA
If you or a family member recently suffered injuries from someone else’s dog in the Roseville area, you likely have grounds to file a personal injury claim against the dog’s owner. Every state has different laws pertaining to dog attacks and the legal duties of dog owners, and the state enforces the strict liability rule. This means that as long as you did not provoke the dog and were legally present at the location where the attack occurred, the dog’s owner is fully responsible for all the damages their pet caused.
This may sound straightforward enough, but the reality is that the actual legal process of proving liability and securing compensation for the losses you suffered is likely to be far more challenging than you may initially expect. Having a seasoned Roseville dog bite attorney assisting you will be a tremendous asset, increasing your chance of not only succeeding with your claim but also of maximizing your compensation. Kreeger Law Firm is ready to provide the comprehensive legal counsel you need in this situation.
Filing Your Personal Injury Claim for a Dog Attack in Roseville
If you believe you have grounds to file a civil suit in response to the dog attack you recently suffered, the first challenge you face is proving strict liability. You must prove that you did not provoke the attack in any way, such as by abusing the dog or attacking the dog’s owner. Additionally, you must have been legally present wherever the attack occurred. Strict liability does not apply if an intruder or trespasser is injured by a private property owner’s dog.
Your Roseville dog bite attorney can assist you in gathering any evidence you may need to assert strict liability, such as eyewitness statements or video footage from security cameras. Once you have asserted fault, you can proceed with calculating all the damages you can seek from the defendant. Dogs are capable of inflicting catastrophic injuries, and it is important for a victim to have legal representation capable of accurately assessing the full extent of damages they can seek in their claim.
If the dog owner failed to follow previously instated rules for handling a known dangerous dog, they could face criminal penalties along with their liability for your damages. It is sometimes possible for a plaintiff in this type of case to receive punitive damages or restitution along with their other damages. Your attorney can explain any potential implications a defendant’s illegal actions may have on your recovery.
Claimable Damages in a Dog Bite Case
California’s personal injury laws aim to enable any plaintiff to seek full compensation for all damages a defendant inflicted. The average personal injury plaintiff will have grounds to claim economic and non-economic damages with their claim, the former being more straightforward. The economic damages you are likely able to claim in your civil suit include:
- Medical treatment costs. A dog can cause puncture wounds, crushing injuries, lacerations, and more serious harm, such as bone fractures and traumatic brain injuries if they knock a victim to the ground. The victim may require extensive immediate and long-term care to reach maximum medical improvement, and the defendant is legally responsible for all associated medical treatment costs.
- Property damage. If the defendant’s dog damaged any of your personal property, you have the right to seek compensation for all associated repair costs.
- Lost income. Many people who suffer severe injuries from dog attacks are unable to work until they recover. If this applies to your situation, your Roseville dog bite attorney can help you recover compensation for your lost wages. Additionally, it is possible to claim compensation for lost future income if your earning power has permanently diminished due to the severity of your injuries.
Beyond your economic damages, you also have the right to claim compensation for the pain and suffering you experienced. State law does not place a limit on pain and suffering in most personal injury claims, but the average plaintiff may struggle to determine a fair dollar value for intangible losses such as physical pain, psychological distress, and emotional trauma.
An experienced Roseville dog bite attorney can help determine appropriate pain and suffering compensation to seek in your claim. They may base their calculation on the time it will likely take for you to fully recover from your injuries, or they might seek a large lump sum if you have suffered severe permanent harm. Many personal injury plaintiffs recover more pain and suffering compensation than the total of their economic damages.
Kreeger Law Firm can work closely with you through each stage of your recovery efforts, from gathering the proof you need to assert strict liability to accurate calculation of all your economic damages. Our goal for every client we represent in Roseville is maximum compensation in the shortest possible time. When you choose our firm to represent your case, you can rest assured that we will do everything we can to streamline your case proceedings in whatever way possible and seek the maximum compensation allowed under the law.
Dog Bite Lawyer FAQs
Q: How Do You Sue for a Dog Bite?
A: California imposes a strict liability law on dog bite cases, meaning a dog’s owner is fully responsible for all damages their pet causes to someone else, regardless of whether the dog has any known history of aggression or prior attacks. For strict liability to apply, the plaintiff needs to show they were lawfully present at the location of the attack and that they did not provoke the dog in any way. An experienced Roseville dog bite attorney can help their client gather the evidence needed to assert strict liability.
Q: How Much Compensation Can You Claim in a Dog Bite Case in Roseville?
A: The state’s personal injury laws allow you to seek full compensation for any economic losses you suffered because of another party’s negligence or illegal misconduct. In a dog bite claim, the victim likely has grounds to claim compensation for medical expenses, lost income, and their pain and suffering. Your Roseville dog bite attorney can help accurately calculate the full range of damages you can claim from the defendant in your case.
Q: How Long Does It Take to Settle a Dog Bite Case in Roseville?
A: Most of the personal injury claims filed in Roseville and elsewhere in the state do not go to litigation. As long as the defendant’s fault is clear and both parties are willing to negotiate, settlement is typically the preferred method of resolving personal injury cases. During settlement, the parties involved in the case meet privately to negotiate mutually acceptable terms for resolving the case. Settlement may only take a few weeks to complete, whereas litigation generally takes several months.
Q: Do I Need to Hire an Attorney to File a Dog Bites Claim?
A: It is possible for you to file a personal injury claim on your own, but this is risky for several reasons. You could miss court filing deadlines or overlook available channels of compensation without an attorney’s help. This could mean a much longer and more difficult series of proceedings followed by a smaller case award than what an attorney could have obtained for you, if you are even able to succeed with the case on your own. Hiring legal counsel you can trust is the most effective way to ensure a positive outcome and to obtain maximum compensation for your losses.
Q: What Are Attorneys’ Fees for a Roseville Dog Bite Attorney?
A: Most of the personal injury attorneys representing Roseville area clients accept cases on a contingency fee basis. With this billing arrangement, the client does not pay anything upfront for legal representation, and they only pay a fee to their attorney if and when they win their case. The contingency fee is a percentage of the total amount recovered, usually between 25% and 40% of the total case value. The exact percentage of the contingency fee usually hinges on the overall complexity of the case and the amount of compensation sought by the plaintiff.
Kreeger Law Firm has successfully represented a wide range of personal injury claims on behalf of Roseville area clients. We know how traumatic a dog attack can be and the many legal questions you are likely to have in the aftermath of this experience. The sooner you contact our team, the more likely you are to succeed with your recovery efforts. Contact Kreeger Law Firm today to schedule a free consultation with a Roseville dog bite lawyer and learn how our team can assist you.
