 Lawyer's Story
My name is
Christopher Quinn, I’m a personal injury attorney
at Brown and Crouppen. One area of the law I’m
particularly interested in is the law surrounding
injuries caused by dogs and other animals. Over the
years, I’ve seen, first hand, the physical and
emotional scars left by dog attacks. That’s why
dog attack cases are taken very seriously at Brown
and Crouppen.
Millions of dogs make
great pets and cherished family members. However,
according to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, each year approximately 800,000 people
in the United States receive dog bites serious
enough to require medical treatment. Victims of
these terrifying attacks often sustain
life-threatening injuries and are forced to undergo
painful and expensive medical treatment. Despite the
best efforts of plastic surgeons, some victims face
a lifetime of disfigurement. Tragically, the
majority of those injured in dog attacks are
children.
From my perspective
as a personal injury lawyer, obtaining compensation
for a client who has been the victim of an animal
attack is often one of the most challenging types of
cases I handle. Several obstacles must be overcome
in order to recover compensation for such an attack.
I’d like to take a few moments to outline some of
the considerations I discuss with people who contact
Brown & Crouppen to talk about animal attack
cases.
First, in order to be
entitled to compensation for an animal attack, you
must prove you sustained injuries as a result of the
attack. Generally, this is not difficult to prove in
an animal attack case. As noted above, the types of
injuries sustained in such attacks are often very
serious and sometimes fatal, as seen in the recent
high-profile attacks in St. Louis and San Francisco.
However, even if you
have been seriously injured as a result of an animal
attack you may not be able to recover compensation
for your injuries. Obviously, you can’t sue a dog
for your damages. So your ability to recover
compensation often depends on whether you can prove
that some person, usually the animal’s owner, was
legally responsible for the attack and has assets
available to adequately compensate you for your
injuries. Both of these requirements present
challenges for the lawyer representing the animal
attack victim.
Establishing that a
dog owner or other person is legally responsible for
the dog attack presents one of the biggest obstacles
to recovery. Each state has different laws, which
determine when a dog owner is legally responsible
for an attack. The fact that an animal has attacked
before may or may not be important. Determining
whether a dog owner violated a city’s leash law
may also be important. Under some circumstances
people other than the animal’s owner may be held
legally responsible for an attack. These cases often
present complicated legal issues, so it’s a good
idea to talk with a lawyer if you’ve been the
victim of an animal attack.
Once the animal
attack victim has established that another person is
liable for the attack, he or she must still overcome
an additional hurdle in order to receive
compensation. Often the person legally responsible
for the animal attack has no real assets available
to compensate the victim. In some cases a home owner’s
insurance company may be required to pay
compensation to the attack victim. In other cases, a
large company or landlord may be held liable.
Determining where to look for compensation in these
cases can be a complicated task. Again, I’d
recommend that you talk to a lawyer if you’ve been
the victim of an animal attack.
I hope that you have
found this information helpful. Obviously, these are
just a few of the important considerations to use in
determining whether you can receive compensation for
an animal attack.
At Brown &
Crouppen our lawyers represent people injured as a
result of animal attacks. If you or someone you know
has been the victim of an animal attack, you may be
entitled to compensation. We’d like to help. To
contact us, please click
here.
Brown & Crouppen can help you make informed
decisions about your legal rights, so please call
Brown & Crouppen at
1-800-536-HELP for your free legal
consultation or save time with our online
Contact Form.
 My name is Veronica
M. and I can honestly say the day my son Tim was
injured was the most frightening day of my life. I
couldn’t concentrate on anything for months but
getting Tim better. I needed to find someone to
handle my case so I could take care of my son. I
called Brown & Crouppen and they took care of
everything.
 CONTINUE |
 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.
CONTINUE |
Call Brown & Crouppen at
1-800-536-HELP
for your free legal consultation or save time with
our online
Contact Form.
1-800-536-HELP
|
