A dog bite or attack can be a physically and emotionally devastating event. If you or a family member sustain a dog bite, it might leave you with physical scars and/or disabilities that can last a lifetime. It can also leave you with immediate and ongoing medical bills—bills you should not be responsible for paying.
If you or someone you love sustains injuries from a dog bite, you may file an insurance claim or lawsuit against the dog owner. If you were bitten by a neighbor’s dog or by a dog in a dog park, the very first thing you should do is seek immediate medical attention.
After a physician treats your wounds, contact the legal team at Laborde Earles Injury Lawyers at (337) 777-7777. A Rayne dog bite lawyer may be able to help you compile evidence and complete insurance forms. Review the details of your dog bite claim with our client intake team and get started on building a case for collecting financial compensation from the dog’s owner.
Get Immediate Medical Attention After a Dog Bite
After a dog bite, three primary health care concerns are likely to be at the top of your list of medical priorities:
- Pain control and management
- Rabies awareness and prevention
- Physical disability and disfigurement
A complete record of medical treatments and their costs is an important part of your claim for financial compensation. Our team can help you assess the cost of these immediate, long-term, and ongoing medical expenses. Contact the client care team at Laborde Earles Injury Lawyers by calling (337) 777-7777 to discuss how your medical treatments and their related costs affect your case. A Rayne dog bite lawyer can serve as your advocate and help you fight for financial recovery to pay these medical expenses.
Laborde Earles injury was great for me they took care of me very fast and professional. If for any reason I need legal help they will be who I use.
ClientMedical Care After a Dog Bite
A dog’s mouth and saliva can contain bacteria that can be extremely dangerous for humans. As soon as possible, after a dog bite, have health care professionals clean and dress your wounds. Merck Manual medical professionals suggest you might also require:
- Antibiotics to treat or avoid dangerous infections
- Trimming of jagged or torn skin and tissue around the wound
- Surgical treatment of deep puncture wounds
- Surgical repair of facial and other unsightly wounds
- Surgical drainage of infected bite wounds
These ongoing treatments and surgeries may come with a hefty price tag. Our legal team may be able to help you hold the dog’s owner responsible for the financial impact of a dog bite or attack.
I thank God for Digger & David. I don’t know what we would have done if it hadn’t have been for them.
Rick Smith | ClientThe Danger and Expense of Rabies After a Dog Bite
If you are bitten by a neighbor’s dog, the owner should be able to share the dog’s medical history and let you know if their dog has been vaccinated for rabies. If you are bitten by an unknown dog in a dog park or on a walk in your community, obtaining information on the dog and their medical history may take time.
Rabies is a dangerous infection that can cause restlessness and mental confusion in humans. Preventing rabies can involve immediate and ongoing injections of the rabies vaccine, which can be long-term and costly. The cost of treating rabies may be recovered in an insurance claim against the dog’s owner.
The reassurance from Digger and his staff gave me that renewed hope that it’s going to be okay down the road.
ClientPhysical Disability and Disfigurement After a Dog Bite
The viciousness of a dog bite can cause ragged and unsightly skin tears and punctures in children and adults. If a dog bite injury is on your hands, arms, legs, or face, it might leave permanent scarring in its wake.
A compensation claim may be able to help you recover the cost of medically necessary surgery to treat wounds and infection. You might also be able to recover the cost of cosmetic surgery, which can help restore your physical appearance after a dog bite leaves you with scars that would otherwise be permanent.
They treated us like no other people would. Whenever we needed something they were there for us. I put my trust in them and I don’t regret it.
ClientDefine the Full Range of Expenses You May Be Entitled to Recover
In a personal injury claim against the owner of a vicious dog, Louisiana Civil Code 2321 says you are entitled to recoverable expenses and financial losses if:
- The dog’s owner did not exercise reasonable care
- The dog’s owner could have taken steps to prevent the injury and did not
- The dog’s owner was aware of the dog’s viciousness
- You or your family member did nothing to provoke the dog bite
If you believe the dog owner did not take appropriate steps to ensure your safety or did not do everything they could to prevent their dog from biting or attacking you or a family member, share that information with your Rayne dog bite lawyer. Your lawyer may use that knowledge to prove negligence or fault in your claim for financial recovery.
Expenses You May Recover From the Dog’s Owner
After you are bitten or attacked by a dog, you might have mounting medical bills. Those medical bills are part of the recoverable expenses your personal injury claim may be able to help you receive. Additional economic and noneconomic expenses you might recover include:
- Current and future loss of income
- Physical scarring and disfigurement
- Pain and suffering and mental anguish
- Follow-up care and physical rehabilitation
Do not allow the owner of the dog that caused your injuries to walk away from the incident and leave you to deal with the financial impact. A lawyer may help you calculate your financial losses, assign value to the pain and suffering or emotional trauma that followed the dog attack, and negotiate an insurance claim that appropriately covers your losses.
Seek Financial Recovery From the Dog’s Owner
Get the financial recovery you are entitled to after a dog bite. We may be able to help you identify and locate the dog and its owner so that you may receive financial compensation. Contact the client services team at Laborde Earles Injury Lawyers by calling (337) 777-7777 after treating your dog bite injury so that we can discuss your legal options.
