Dog Bite Lawyers

Throughout Southwest Florida, there are countless news reports about children being mauled or suffering from a serious dog bite injury. Sadly, there have in recent years been stories of the wrongful death of children in Southwest Florida because of a dog mauling or tragic dog bite injury.

../../images/Domesticated%20219.jpgAn experienced personal injury lawyer can help ensure that your family is fully compensated for your dog bite injury.  In the case of a child who has been injured, the compensation may increase because of the possibility of long-term medical expenses and emotional trauma.

Many human behaviors (especially by people unfamiliar with dogs) may factor into dog bite situations. The majority of dogs will not respond to all or even any of these behaviors with aggression, however, some will. These behaviors include:

• Challenging for food or water
• • For example, removing food from a dog, or appearing to intervene between a dog and its food. Even when inadvertent, this may trigger aggressive behavior in some animals.
• Attacking (or perceived attacking) a dog or its companions, or encroaching on its territory
• • Dogs are pack animals; they often have an instinct to defend themselves and those they consider their "pack" (which could be other dogs, humans, or even other animals), and to defend their territory, which may include areas they consider "theirs" or belonging to their family.
• Sickness or injury
• • A sick or injured dog, or an older animal, like people, may become "cranky" or over-reactive, and may develop a tendency to become "snappish".
• Failure to recognize insecurity or fear
• • Like humans, dogs that feel insecure may ultimately turn and defend themselves against perceived threat. It is common for people to not recognize signs of fear or insecurity, and to approach, triggering a defensive reaction.
• Intervention when dogs fight
• • When dogs fight, a human stepping in between, or seeking to restrain one of them without due care, may be badly bitten as well.
• Threatening body language
• • Especially including direct staring (an act of dominance or aggression) or a person not known to the dog moving their face very close to the animal's own snout (may be perceived as a challenge, threatening, or imposing). Staring is more dangerous when on the same visual level as the dog (such as small children), or when the human is unfamiliar.
• Prey behaviors
• • Dogs retain many of their predatory instincts, including the chasing of prey. Running away from a dog or behaving in a manner suggesting weakness, may trigger predatory behaviors such as chasing or excited attack. For example, the instinct to jerk one's hands upwards away from an inquisitive dog may elicit a strong impulse to grab and hold.
• Fear and self-defense
• • Like humans, dogs react when fearful, and may feel driven to attack out of self defense, even when not in fact being "attacked". Speed of movement, noises, objects or specific gestures such as raising an arm or standing up may elicit a reaction. Many rescued dogs have been abused, and in some dogs, specific fears of men, women, skin coloring, and other features that recall past abusers, are not uncommon. A dog that feels cornered or without recourse may attack the human who is threatening or attacking it. A dog may also perceive a hand reached out toward its head as an attempt to gain control of the dog's neck via the collar, which if done to a wary dog by a stranger can easily provoke a bite.
• Ignoring warning signs
• • Trained attack dogs may act against an intruder without warning.

Note that dog attacks may be triggered by behaviors that are perceived as an attack, for example, a sudden unexpected approach or touch by a stranger, or inadvertently stepping on any portion of the dog's anatomy, such as a paw or tail, or startling a sleeping dog unexpectedly. In particular, the territory that a dog recognizes as its own may not coincide with the property lines that its owner and the legal authorities recognize, such as a portion of a neighbor's backyard.

Child Dog Bite Injury

Small children are especially prone to being misunderstood by dogs, in part because their size and movements can be similar to prey. Also, young children may unintentionally provoke a dog (pulling on ears or tails is common, as is surprising a sleeping dog) because of their inexperience. Because of a dog's pack instincts, more dominant dogs may view children or even complacent adults as rivals rather than as superiors, and attempt to establish dominance by physical means.

This means the children, particularly young children, are likely to be bitten by a dog and sustain serious injury, including:

Dog Bite Injury Claim

You have the legal right to seek compensation for dog bite injuries suffered by you or your loved ones. In some cases, the dog owner's homeowner's insurance policy will pay damages. An experienced personal injury lawyer at our firm, however, may be able to recover additional compensation.

A dog bite victim may recover compensation from the person whose negligence resulted in the dog bite. Florida dog bite liability law is a source for securing compensation and holding the negligent dog owner responsible for a dog bite injury. Contact our Law Firm today.