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While most domesticated dogs are friendly, there is no shortage of aggressive and vicious ones across the Commonwealth. If someone else’s dog attacked and injured you recently, you may be able to hold that person legally liable for the harm their pet caused. However, it is critical that you are familiar with what rights state law gives you in this regard and what strategies are most effective when it comes to enforcing those rights.
Guidance from a Harrisburg dog bite lawyer can make a huge difference in your ability to recover comprehensively for injuries sustained from a dog attack. Whether you just need help covering short-term medical bills or have suffered life-altering physical and psychological trauma, your dedicated personal injury attorney can provide the tenacious and custom-tailored support you may need to effectively pursue the compensation you deserve.
What Damages Could Be Recoverable?
When a domesticated dog in Pennsylvania bites or otherwise injures another person by attacking them, that dog’s owner is “strictly liable” for all medical expenses necessary to treat the injuries their pet caused. In order to recover for other forms of harm, someone injured by a dog attack must be able to prove that the dog’s owner was legally negligent in some way.
If an injured person can establish negligence by a dog’s owner, they may be entitled to recover for various other economic and non-economic forms of harm, including:
- Lost work income and/or working ability
- Personal property damage or loss
- Physical pain and suffering
- Emotional anguish and psychological trauma
- Lost quality/enjoyment of life
A Harrisburg dog attack attorney can provide vital assistance with identifying, accurately valuating, and case demanding restitution for all available damages in a particular case.
Proving a Dog’s Owner Was Legally Negligent
In the context of dog bite litigation in Pennsylvania, “negligence” by a dog owner generally entails the owner failing to control their dog properly despite knowing that their pet had “unmistakably vicious tendencies” based on prior experiences. State court precedent holds that a single incident of a dog biting another human or animal does not necessarily mean a dog is “vicious.” Also, a previous biting incident is not necessarily required for a dog to be considered “vicious.”
It is worth noting as well that dog owners may not hold any civil liability for injuries their dog caused by biting or attacking someone who was trespassing or someone who had voluntarily assumed a risk of being injured by the dog. Likewise, owners may not be liable for injuries caused by their dog after that animal escapes from a properly fenced yard. Likewise, anyone found to have taunted, provoked, or otherwise contributed to causing a dog to attack them through their own irresponsible behavior may be found partially to blame for their injuries and denied some amount of compensation based on that. A dog bite lawyer can provide more information on how fault is determined after a dog bite.
Get in Touch with a Skilled Harrisburg Dog Bite Attorney
Pennsylvania state law is fairly generous to dog bite victims in terms of the rights it provides them to take legal action against the owner of the dog who bit them and demand compensation for losses stemming from that incident. However, knowing your rights is one thing, and proactively enforcing them is another. If you try to pursue your claim without capable legal counsel on your side, you may have very slim odds of success.
Representation from a Harrisburg dog bite lawyer could mean the difference between fair recovery for your injuries and getting no compensation at all. Call today to set up your free initial consultation.
