A dog attack is a parent’s worst nightmare. If your child gets bitten and seriously injured by a dog in Texas, know that your family has legal rights. It is important to protect them by hiring a dog bite injury lawyer in Kyle, if necessary. Proper legal protection can ensure your child’s safety, proper medical care and justice for serious injuries. Take the following steps in this overwhelming situation.
Get to Safety
Get your child to a safe place away from the dog. This may mean leaving the area and finding shelter if your child is attacked by a stray dog or one that is running at large without an owner present. If the owner is available, get his or her contact information before you leave the area. This includes information about the pet, the owner’s name and address, and property insurance details.
Seek Medical Care
Professional medical care is vital when a child is bitten by a dog. If the bite breaks the skin, the child may be at risk of serious diseases and infection. Even if the skin is not broken, the strength of the dog’s jaws may have fractured bones or caused soft-tissue damage. Medical treatment at a children’s hospital in Texas can give your child the best recovery possible. Keep copies of your medical bills and records as evidence for your claim.
Collect Evidence
Do your best to gather evidence while you are still at the scene of your child’s dog attack. The more information you collect about the incident, the better informed you will be throughout the claims process. Evidence at the scene can be used to support your injury claim against the pet owner. This can include an incident report, photographs and video footage, eyewitness statements, and medical documentation.
Report the Dog Bite
Call your local animal control center to report the dog attack. It is important to always report dog bite injuries in your community. Animal control will keep these records, which can then be used to allow you or others to hold the pet owner responsible for dog bite injuries in the future. Establishing a history of a dog’s violence or aggression is necessary for a successful dog bite claim under Texas’s one-bite rule (in most cases).
Understand Your Legal Rights
Texas law permits dog bite injury victims to seek financial compensation for related losses in certain circumstances. In general, the victim must provide proof that the pet owner knew or reasonably should have known that the dog had a propensity for viciousness. Proof of negligence or the pet owner’s failure to act with proper care could also provide the right to file a claim against the owner.
Consult With a Dog Bite Injury Attorney
Filing a dog bite injury claim in Texas could lead to financial compensation awarded for your child’s past and future medical bills, including an emergency room visit, hospital stay, treatments, surgeries, therapies, medications and rehabilitation. You may also be able to seek compensation for permanent disfigurement or disability, pain and suffering, emotional injuries, psychological trauma, property damage, out-of-pocket costs, and more.
Learn about your legal rights by consulting with a local dog bite injury attorney about your specific case. Contacting a lawyer can provide your family with personalized legal advice that you can use to take the correct steps to move forward with a claim. A lawyer can help you hold one or more parties accountable for your child’s dog bite injuries.
To book an appointment for a free dog bite injury case evaluation in San Antonio, contact Hill Law Firm Accident & Injury Lawyers 24/7.