Dog Bite Lawyer in Flint

Dogs are great companions, but they can sometimes display aggressive behavior and cause serious injury when an owner acts negligently. A dog attack can cause financial strain due to lost wages from time off work, high medical bills, and lifelong emotional distress related to the incident.

If you or a loved one suffers an injury in a dog attack, contact a personal injury attorney at Cochran, Kroll, & Associates, P.C. to help you recover maximum compensation for your medical costs and psychological injuries.

The compensation payout for dog bites is covered by homeowner’s or renter’s insurance. Even if a friend or relative’s dog bites you, ensure you keep all of your medical treatment records and seek legal counsel with a personal injury attorney at our law firm.

Our dog bite lawyers can advise you of your next steps at your initial consultation.

Dog Bite Injuries

Bite attacks are serious incidents that put victims at risk. An animal bite injury can range from superficial scrapes to life-threatening damage. Scrapes are a common injury from dog attacks, but bites can result in more serious damage, such as:

Nerve damage

A canine attack can result in nerve damage due to the animal’s teeth puncturing the soft tissue beneath the skin. Attacks from dogs with an overpowering bite force can sever nerves, causing permanent damage to the victim’s central nervous system.

Bone fractures

Mastiffs, Rottweilers, German Shepherds, and other medium and large dogs can fracture their victims’ bones. Wrists and feet are particularly susceptible to bone fractures, while dog attacks on children can result in broken bones in their arms and legs.

Muscle damage

Depending on their breed and size, dogs can produce devastating bite force; large breeds like Cane Corso and French Mastiff can reach bite pressure of up to 700 PSI (more than a lion).

When dogs clamp their teeth down on a victim’s muscle, it can cause deep muscle tears and sever connective tissue. This can lead to symptoms like numbness, weakness, and atrophy that can persist for months or years after the attack.

Scarring

Depending on a dog bite’s depth and ferocity, a conspicuous scar can remain even after the bite victim recovers. Permanent scars result from the body’s effort to heal trauma to the skin.

While procedures such as skin grafts, cryotherapy, and laser surgery can help mitigate the damage, some permanent scars will be visible regardless of a plastic surgeon’s efforts. The average cost per surgery is in the thousands of dollars, making dog attack personal injury claims necessary for avoiding out-of-pocket costs.

Scarring, especially on visible body parts like the face, can cause emotional injury. Our personal injury lawyers will work hard to ensure you receive damages for your pain and suffering.

Amputations

A severe dog bite can cause catastrophic injury to the victim. Severed fingers and even limbs may have to be amputated due to a dog bite. Dogs’ mouths can harbor infections that lead to sepsis, requiring limb amputation.

Non-bite injuries

Other than injuries a dog can cause with its teeth and claws, victims can suffer non-bite injuries resulting from an attack. For example, victims can suffer brain damage from a slip and fall resulting from a dog attack.

Dogs also often chase their victims during an attack. A common accident is when a dog may chase a victim on a bike or motorcycle, causing a motorcycle accident in which you sustain injuries. Michigan has strict public leash laws to help owners control their pets and keep the public safe. However, many dog owners fail to implement this law, leaving them liable for damages.

Post-traumatic stress disorder

PTSD is another common condition among dog bite victims, particularly among children. PTSD symptoms can prevent you from living your best life, causing you to avoid certain locations, situations, and people that lead to intrusive negative thoughts surrounding the dog bite attack.

PTSD from dog bite attacks can also cause physical symptoms like racing heartbeat, hyperventilation, and excessive sweating when the condition is triggered by an adverse stimulus like a dog bark. The condition can cause changes in cognition and mood that can negatively impact the rest of your life.

Is There a One-Bite Rule in Michigan?

The one-bite rule is a law that many states have that holds dog owners strictly liable for damages only if they are aware of their pet’s vicious behavior. This can result in complicated lawsuits where a claim evaluation takes into account the owner’s history with the animal.

Michigan is not a one-bite state. This leaves the owner potentially liable for the full extent of damage their pet causes its victims.

If a dog has bitten you, you may have medical bills and lost wages due to your injury. These costs can quickly add up and become a financial burden, and you may be eligible for compensation from the dog’s owner. The legal team at Cochran, Kroll, & Associates, P.C., helps dog bite victims secure damages after an animal attack so that they can rebuild their lives.

Dog Bite Liability in Michigan

Michigan’s dog bite laws hold owners strictly liable in the event of a dog bite case in Flint. According to the Michigan Dog Bite Statute (MCL § 287.351), the dog owner can be held liable for damages if the victim was lawfully on private property or in a public place at the time of the attack and they did not engage in any behavior that provoked the dog. The owner is liable whether or not they had prior knowledge of the dog’s aggressive behavior.

If you are a victim of a dog bite attack in Michigan, you may be entitled to damages for any medical bills, lost wages, or pain you’ve suffered as a result of the attack. If you are eligible for compensation, the dog owner’s home insurance company typically pays out the settlement.

However, if your insurance claim is denied, you may need to hire Michigan injury lawyers at our law firm and file a personal injury claim and settle the matter in court.

What constitutes provocation in Michigan?

Provoking a dog is when a bite victim actively goes out of their way to anger a canine. However, in Michigan, provocation can include an unintentional act by the victim, such as accidentally stepping on a dog while on public property.

A dog owner may choose a provocation defense. This is a claim that the injury victim is responsible due to a degree of provocation. Hiring experienced legal counsel can help you prove that you did not provoke the dog by using witness statements or CCTV footage to support your compensation claim.

What to Do After a Dog Attack

A dog bite can be painful and confuse a victim. It’s essential to maintain your composure and take the steps necessary to tend to any severe injuries while collecting information that will be useful to your bite injury lawyer. Dog attacks can result in loss of income, plastic surgery to cover up embarrassing scars and severe injuries.

Seek medical attention

The first step in the event of an animal attack is to seek emergency medical treatment for your injuries. An experienced team of lawyers can recover damages for your medical bills, so it’s important to document and attend all treatments.

Gather evidence

Another step in the process of filing a dog bite claim is to collect evidence, like eyewitness accounts of the event from fellow citizens, vaccination records, and any other pertinent history about the animal.

Also, any photos or videos you can take can help prove that the incident pertains to the specific dog that bit you. Calling the police in the event that you’re dealing with a non-cooperative owner helps establish the facts surrounding the incident since the authorities produce a report.

Our law firm has decades of collective experience with medical malpractice cases, nursing home abuse, and other types of civil claims involving medical issues. Your dog bite case may require careful injury analysis and presentation by your dog bite attorneys.

Eileen Kroll, our nurse attorney and senior partner, combines her prior work as a nurse with her legal experience to present your evidence clearly to support your claim. Eileen and her legal team genuinely care about their clients and won’t back down until they maximize the compensation you are owed.

Contact a Personal Injury Lawyer Today

To file a claim for your dog bite injury, you must do so within three years of the incident. Waiting longer will leave you ineligible to file a claim under the Michigan statute of limitations for personal injury cases.

If you’ve been injured by a dog bite in Flint, Michigan, don’t delay seeking legal counsel to help you file your claim. Book your free initial consultation with the law office of Cochran, Kroll & Associates, P.C.

We have decades of experience handling personal injury cases to help you win your claim. We have a track record of winning substantial settlements of thousands of dollars for accident victims and satisfied clients.

Our contingency fee basis means we only get paid if we win your case, so there is no financial risk to you to get started. Call our law firm today at 1-866-MICH-LAW and schedule your no-obligation, free case evaluation.