Columbus Dog Bite Lawyer

Dog bites can happen to anyone and anywhere. For example, you can suffer a dog attack at someone’s home, in a public place such as a park, at work, on the way to work, and elsewhere. A Columbus dog bite lawyer could help you pursue compensation in a personal injury insurance claim or lawsuit if someone else’s dog hurt you. The recoverable damages in this type of case may include your medical bills, lost wages, and more.

To learn more about our services and your legal options in a free case review with a team member, call a Columbus personal injury lawyer today. Our team represents clients on a contingency-fee-basis with no upfront fees or payments required.

What Compensation Can You Receive with a Columbus Dog Bite Lawyer for a Dog Bite Claim?

Depending on the nature of your accident and your injuries, you may be able to recover damages. For example, some recoverable damages after a Columbus dog attack may include, but are not limited to:

• Your current and future costs of medical treatment: This might cover hospitalizations, surgeries, prescribed medications, lab tests, and follow-up appointments.
• Lost wages for when your recovery process forced you to miss work: Compensation can replace your hourly rate, vacation days, and other benefits you lost.
• Property damage: Your belongings might sustain damage when the dog attacks you. You can get compensation for this.
• Pain and suffering: The physical pain you’re experiencing can keep you from going about your daily routine. Our dog bite attorney can assign a monetary value to your pain and suffering to help you get compensation.
• Scarring and disfigurement: You can receive compensation if a dog bite alters your appearance or compromises your overall mobility.

Tragically, some dog attacks are fatal. If you lost a loved one in a dog attack, you might have the right to seek compensation. A different set of damages may be available to surviving family members in a wrongful death case, such as funeral expenses, burial fees, and your loss of consortium.

Suppose the attack resulted from the carelessness, recklessness, or negligence of a dog owner or caretaker. In this situation, a Columbus dog accident attorney might be able to help you pursue compensation in a wrongful death case.

How Much Compensation Are You Entitled to After a Columbus Dog Bite?

We can’t give you a precise estimate of how much compensation you can recover until we review your case’s facts. Many factors can impact how much compensation you’re entitled to, including:

• Your age at the time of the incident
• The severity of your injuries
• Your prognosis for future treatment and recovery
• The cost of current and future medical bills
• The details about how your injury has affected and will continue to affect your life

Ohio has caps on non-economic damages for personal injury cases, like dog bites, for victims who have not suffered a catastrophic injury. This type of injury results in severe scarring or disability that prevents victims from caring for themselves.

Your Columbus dog bite lawyer can help you understand whether these caps apply to your case and explain how we can maximize your claim regardless of the caps.

Who Pays for Your Columbus Dog Bite Claim?

Many factors can influence which parties will pay for your dog bite. For example, where the attack occurred can determine how many parties can be held responsible. For instance, if your attack happens at the park, we may hold the dog owner or dog walker responsible.

Some dog owners have pet liability insurance policies, and a dog bite lawyer in Columbus can seek compensation through those avenues as necessary.

Who Else Is Liable for Dog Bite Accidents in Columbus?

If you’re bitten at your apartment complex by a neighbor’s dog, the dog owner and your landlord may be held responsible.

We may seek compensation through the dog owner’s homeowners’ or renters’ insurance policy. We may also file a claim through a liability insurance policy held by a landlord, property management company, or kennel company.

Your dog bite attorney in Columbus, OH,  will exhaust all your options for seeking compensation and maximizing your claim. We stay dedicated to getting you a fair settlement that takes care of you and your family’s needs.

What Services Do You Get from Columbus Dog Bite Lawyers?

When we work together, a Columbus dog injury lawyer manages all the legal work in your dog bite case. Our team believes in giving you time to recover while we:

Handle Communication and Legal Paperwork

We understand the legal complexities of dog bite claims in Columbus and support our customers. We take care of the communication with insurance agents and the owner of the dog, which allows us to protect your claim.

Identify All Liable Parties

Our team understands who the court holds liable for animal attacks in Columbus. We work to find the dog’s owner or the party responsible for the animal when it bit you. We also take steps to show that you did not cause the animal attack.

Collect Evidence for You

We focus on gathering evidence to support your story of events after a dog bite in Columbus. We even work with dog attack experts in some cases to bolster your case.

Assess All Your Losses

We want you to receive total funding to cover your losses after an animal attack. Therefore, we go over all your medical expenses, the time you had to take off from work, and the costs of your pain and suffering.

Review Your Options to Resolve Your Case

You can often settle with the insurance company after an animal attack or file a lawsuit. Both of these legal options have benefits. We’ll review each choice to help you decide what works for your unique situation.

Negotiate a Settlement on Your Behalf

Our team can negotiate with insurance agents for you. We review any settlement offers they make to ensure they cover your losses. We stand up to high-powered agents on your behalf using proven strategies.

Throughout this process, your dog bit attorney in Columbus can also answer your questions and keep you updated on your case so that you can focus on your recovery.

Why Hire Us to Handle Your Dog Bite Case in Columbus?

Our team has over three decades of experience handling legal cases in Ohio. As a result, we understand the ins and outs of all laws about animal attacks in the state, allowing us to answer your questions and personalize your claim.

Our experience gives us the confidence to handle all aspects of your legal claim. We also maintain open communication throughout the legal process, keeping you updated as we seek damages to cover your losses.

We believe in seeking justice for clients like you but always putting you first and considering your needs. So tell us your story today with a free consultation.

What Injuries Can a Dog Bite Claim Cover in Columbus?

A dog attack can lead to injuries such as:

• Abrasions, lacerations, bruises, and puncture wounds
• Broken and fractured bones
• Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs)
• Spinal cord injuries
• Facial disfigurement and scarring
• Rabies, tetanus, and other viral illnesses
• Mental and emotional trauma

These injuries can be expensive to treat, and you may have to undergo multiple treatments or even surgery after an attack, depending on the severity of your injuries. That is why it is best to seek medical attention as soon as possible after a dog bite—even if you don’t think it’s that serious.

You could develop an infection, such as rabies, and the longer you go without seeing a doctor, the more your condition can worsen, the longer it can take to recover, and the more you will need to pay for treatment.

Your Columbus dog bite lawyer can track all the injuries you sustained due to the animal attack, reviewing medical records and other documents. Then, we use this documentation to build your legal case.

How Do Ohio’s Dog Bite Laws Affect Your Case?

You can find Ohio’s laws regarding dog attacks in Ohio Revised Code Section 955.28. This law indicates how a dog owner may be liable for the injuries their dog causes when it attacks someone else.

Ohio holds dog owners strictly liable for dog bites and other aggressive attacks. The one-bite rule, which does not hold a dog owner responsible for a dog with no prior history of aggression for the first bite, isn’t commonly upheld in our state. That means you may not have to prove the owner’s or caretaker’s negligence or prior knowledge of aggressive tendencies to have a case, but it may help your case.

In general, you may be able to recover compensation in a dog bite case if your Columbus dog bite attorney can prove the following elements:

• That the animal in question attacked you
• That you were not trespassing when a dog attacked you
• That you were not abusing or teasing the dog or causing its owner harm
• That you suffered an attack because of the negligence of the dog’s owner or caretaker
• That the attack led to physical, mental, emotional, financial, or other losses

This law doesn’t just apply to dog owners. Other parties who may be held responsible for a dog attack include:

• Dog sitters and dog walkers
• Landlords
• Kennel employees and companies
• The parents of an adult child who has their dog living on their property
• Pet owners whose other animals bite or attack another person

Our team can help you collect evidence of the above elements and identify liable parties when we represent you. This evidence may include surveillance camera footage, statements of eyewitnesses, medical bills, photos of your injuries, and more.

We’re ready to begin assessing liability for your claim today.

We Work for You on a No-Win, No-Fee Basis

At the Fitch Law Firm LLC, we can represent you on a contingency-fee-basis, where you are not obligated to pay us attorney’s fees that sometimes include:

• Hourly rates
• Upfront fees
• Out-of-pocket expenses

We won’t charge you a dime unless and until we help you recover compensation via a settlement offer or court award. There is no risk involved, so you have nothing to lose when you choose us to be your legal advocates.

Find out more about the services a Columbus dog bite lawyer provides by contacting us for assistance today.

How Long Do You Have to File a Dog Bite Lawsuit?

Per Ohio Revised Code Section 2305.10, you generally have two years to file a personal injury lawsuit in Ohio. There is also a general two-year statute of limitations for wrongful death lawsuits, per Ohio Revised Code Section 2125.02.

Failure to take action by the deadline that applies to your lawsuit could mean that your case gets dismissed. However, if your child was under 18 years old and was a victim of such an incident, the statute of limitations might be tolled and start up on their 18th birthday.

We encourage you to call us as soon as possible after your accident. We can help you understand how the statute of limitations applies to your dog bite attack. The sooner you call us, the sooner we can start working on your case and file a lawsuit before time runs out.

What Should You Do After a Columbus Dog Bite?

After a dog bite, you should first get your injuries looked at by a doctor. Some other steps you might want to take after a dog bite incident include:

• Take notes about how you feel: Keeping a log of the status of your injuries and your mental state will help prove that the dog bite caused you to experience pain and suffering.
• Avoid speaking with insurers: After the dog bite, the owner’s insurance company may try to call you for a statement. You do not have to talk to them. You should avoid telling them any information about the situation until you’ve spoken with a lawyer. The insurer may use anything you say against you. 
• Continue medical treatment: Your doctor will likely advise you on how to treat your injuries. It’s essential to your case and your health to follow through on your treatment plan.
• Hire a lawyer: You don’t have to take action against a negligent dog owner on your own. A lawyer from our firm can guide you through filing a claim or lawsuit. We will use any evidence you have to build your case.

You can get detailed advice about handling your case today from a dog bite lawyer in Columbus, OH. We’re standing by to support you, starting right now.

It’s also important to contact animal control after an animal attack. Animal control may help you identify the animal and can even restrain the animal in some situations, preventing it from attacking other people.

Call the Columbus Dog Bite Attorneys Today for a Free Consultation

The Fitch Law Firm LLC believes that negligent dog owners should take responsibility when their animals attack. If someone else’s dog hurt you, a Columbus dog bite lawyer from our firm might be able to fight for compensation on your behalf.

Call us to discuss your case for free with a team member or complete our online contact form.