1. IT IS NOT NECESSARY THAT THE DOG HAS BITTEN SOMEONE BEFORE IN ORDER FOR YOU TO BE COMPENSATED.

Many people believe that all dogs get one “free” bite before the owner is responsible for damages, simply put, this is not always the case. A showing that the dog owner knew or should have known of the canine’s dangerous propensities is generally enough, in many states, to qualify for compensation.

2. THE INSURANCE COMPANY IS NOT YOUR FRIEND.

If you’ve been bitten by a dog it’s important to understand the “real” agenda of the insurance company in your case. First, understand the insurance company is not your friend, they are not looking out for you, they are only looking out for their own interests. See, insurance companies exist for one purpose only, to make money. Insurance companies make money by selling insurance and receiving premium payments, they then invest this money and make even more money. Insurance companies lose money by paying out benefits (money) to people hurt by dangerous dogs owned by the people they insure. Since you are one of those people who want the insurance company to pay you money you represent a potential loss to the insurance company and insurance companies hate losses, cause that really sets back that whole “exist only to make money” thing. Never forget these simple facts, they are the basis for everything the insurance company does, they have only one goal, that is to close your case without paying you anything or if they have to pay you something, to pay you as little as possible.

3. THE INSURANCE COMPANY IS ALWAYS REPRESENTED BY AN EXPERIENCED DOG BITE LAWYER.

Insurance companies are smart, they know that when you're dealing with the law you need a lawyer, a lawyer experienced in dog bite law. Insurance company lawyers are there for one reason only, to protect the interests of the insurance company. If you choose not to be represented by a lawyer, the insurance company’s lawyer armed with, years of knowledge and experience, adjusters, investigators and almost limitless resources has absolutely no obligation to look out for your interests, you are on your own.

4. INSURANCE COMPANIES PAY MORE MONEY IN DOG BITE CASES WHEN THE INJURED PERSON IS REPRESENTED BY A LAWYER.

This fact comes from observations made over many years of practicing law. Paying more money to dog bite victims who have retained legal counsel certainly explains why so much of an insurance adjuster’s time is spent trying to discourage bite victims from talking to lawyers. When you think about it, it makes sense, of course people without representation who have essentially no knowledge or experience about dog bite law, won’t be able to negotiate nearly as effectively as a trained, dog bite attorney. Since insurance company’s sole reason to exist is to make money it’s clear that keeping injured people and lawyers apart makes good business sense for them, not for you.

5. HIRING A LAWYER DOESN’T MEAN YOUR CASE WILL TAKE YEARS TO BE SETTLED OR MEAN YOU WILL HAVE TO GO TO COURT.

A lot of people think that hiring a lawyer delays the legal process so that their case will take years to be completed. The truth is, this is usually not the case. At Brown and Crouppen most accident cases are finished in one year or less. We usually figure that a case will be all done within 60 to 120 days after we receive your final medical records. As far as your fear of having to go to court, don’t worry, it is rare that any Brown and Crouppen client will ever have to go to court or even sit for a deposition. Through a lot of hard work we have developed a reputation in the legal community that allows us to fairly settle most of our cases without the need of our clients to be subjected to these unpleasant parts of our legal system. In short, don’t worry, your case will probably be settled favorably in months not years and very few Brown and Crouppen clients ever have to appear in court.

6. YOU DON’T HAVE FOREVER TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR DOG BITE CASE.

Unfortunately, this is the truth. There are definite time limits in taking care of your case. These time limits are called statutes of limitations and if you wait past the time set out in the statute your case is over, forever, regardless if you have gotten any money or not. Don’t let this happen to you, if you are bitten by a dog don’t wait until it’s too late, call Brown and Crouppen now.

7. IT DOES NOT COST YOU ANY MONEY IN ADVANCE TO GET A LAWYER IN A DOG BITE CASE.

At Brown and Crouppen our policy in dog bite cases, as well as our other injury cases, is that we never charge you any “in advance” legal fee. The only way you ever pay any legal fees or expenses is at the conclusion of your case and then only out of the money we were able to recover for you. If we are unsuccessful and no money is collected then any costs we incurred is our expense and of course you owe us nothing for our time. We believe we should make money only after we make you money. That’s why it doesn’t cost you any money in advance to get a lawyer in a dog bite case.