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If you’ve suffered a severe dog bite, you might not know what to do next. You might know the owner really well, or you’re actually fond of the animal and don’t want to see anything happen to that beloved pet. It’s important to note, however, that you’re probably suffering some serious monetary losses as well – and you know you deserve compensation.
The first thing you should do is to speak with an attorney – assuming of course, you’ve already received the medical attention you need. If you do have to file a lawsuit, it will be against the dog owner’s insurance company, not the dog owner. Also, as long as the animal hasn’t shown a pattern of aggressive behavior, there’s a very good chance nothing will happen that will result in any sort of permanent separation from the owner.
The attorneys with Sand Law can tell you much more. Contact us online or call 701-609-1510 for more information on how we may be able to help.
If you’re like most people, you know how to act around a dog, whether or not you’re familiar with the animal. But even when that’s the case, an attack can still happen. When it does, it’s usually because someone was negligent in some form or fashion. Here are just some examples of the different parties that can be held accountable for a dog bite, and could have prevented it from happening if they had just shown some responsibility.
While not all dog bites can be prevented, certain precautions can reduce the risk. Always ask for permission before petting someone else’s dog. Avoid sudden movements or loud noises around unfamiliar dogs.
Never leave children unsupervised with a dog, regardless of its known temperament. Understanding a dog’s body language can also be beneficial; for instance, a wagging tail doesn’t always mean a dog is friendly. Educating oneself and practicing caution can go a long way in preventing potential dog bite incidents.
While we would never want to stereotype any dog breed as being a menace, the fact is that there are some breeds that are more prone to attacking than others. This isn’t meant to imply that every dog that belongs to this breed is dangerous – there are obviously plenty of them that are very sweet and docile. In general, however, these are the breeds that are known to exhibit aggressive tendencies.
Dog owners in North Dakota have a duty to ensure their pets don’t pose a danger to others. This includes proper training, securing their property to prevent escapes, and leashing their dogs in public areas.
If a dog has shown aggressive tendencies, the owner has an increased responsibility to take precautions, such as muzzling the dog or ensuring it’s securely confined. Being a responsible dog owner not only protects others but also ensures the safety and well-being of the dog itself.
Dog bites can, in many instances, result in catastrophic injuries that can be life altering. The following are just a few examples.
Beyond the evident physical injuries, dog bites can leave lasting psychological scars. Victims might develop a fear of dogs, experience nightmares, or suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Especially in children, a traumatic dog bite can lead to prolonged anxiety and behavioral changes. Recognizing these psychological impacts is crucial, as therapy or counseling might be necessary to help victims cope and recover.
The insurance company of the dog owner, walker, sitter or whoever the negligent party may be will very likely make it difficult to obtain the compensation you deserve. You’ll need that money in order to recover the financial losses, or damages, that you’ve incurred. For example, you’ve probably had significant medical bills stemming from the treatment you’ve had to receive. Not only have you lost wages due to the time you’ve missed from work, you may not be able to return to your former position. That could negatively impact your potential future earnings.
The best chance to get the money to which you’re entitled is to have hard evidence that you were in no way to blame for the attack. Take pictures and videos of your injury. If the dog came through a hole, take pictures of that hole before the owner has a chance to fix it.
The more evidence you can collect, the stronger your case will be – and the better your chances you’ll win that case. Your attorney will also work to collect the proof it will take for you to achieve the most positive result possible.
This proof will also help deflect the insurance companies efforts to claim that you were in some way responsible for the injuries you’ve suffered. The insurer may say, for instance, that you somehow agitated the dog.
This kind of case falls under North Dakota’s “comparative negligence” principle. This basically means if you are found to have been partially responsible for the attack, your compensation will be reduced depending on how much blame you’re assigned. Suppose you would receive $100,000 if you were 0% to blame. If you’re found to be 40% responsible, then you’d lose $40,000. If you were found to be 50% or more responsible, you wouldn’t be eligible to receive a dime.
Don’t let this happen to you. Talk to an experienced dog bite attorney with Sand Law so we can get to work on your behalf. We’ll do everything we can to make sure you receive full, fair compensation. Schedule a free consultation by contacting us online or calling 701-609-1510.
Whether it’s a dog you’ve known for years or one you’ve just met, at the end of the day, man’s best friend is still an animal, that it’s root, is a predator. As such, they are capable 0f being aggressive, defensive, territorial, and biting with extreme force. They do it for a variety of reasons, sometimes because they are threatened, poorly trained, not secured, sick, or are genetically predisposed to aggression.
A dog attack becomes a legal matter when a dog bites a person without proper precautions being taken by the owner to prevent it, especially if they know the dog is prone to biting. Dogs are animals that humans have decided to keep as pets. At the end of the day, they are not responsible for their actions; humans are. And thus, humans are the ones who must answer for their dogs actions.
At Sand Law, our experienced dog bite injury attorneys can help you sort out the legal matters surrounding the case, and may be able to help you recover monetary compensation for injuries that may have been inflicted by the bite.
Dogs are, by their nature, animals, and even the nicest most well-behaved pet can lash out and bite under certain circumstances. The American Veterinary Medical Association has outlined a variety of reasons why dogs may bite. Oftentimes, it is in response to external factors.
For example, dogs often bite when they feel frightened or stressed, or if they want to be left alone. Some dogs, especially when they’re young puppies, may also use their teeth during playtime. But very rarely is it unprovoked – growling and aggressive body language are a dog’s first signals that it is uncomfortable.
As such, it is your responsibility to be mindful of what a dog is doing, especially if it begins to show signs of being uncomfortable that may result in it resorting to biting as a way of telling you to back off. Failing to do so, or actively provoking the dog into biting you, makes you at fault for the incident and means you cannot seek any damages as a result.
North Dakota is one of a handful of states that do not have a statute specifically about dog bites on the books. Most of the time, if a dog bites a person without provocation or warning, it is handled as a personal injury case with a statute of limitations of six years.
Previous court rulings in the state have determined that standard North Dakota negligence laws apply to scenarios in which dog bites occur. In order to win damages from a dog owner in the event of an unprovoked bite, your legal team must prove that:
An important caveat to keep in mind is that some dog bite injury cases can be affected by limited liability for trespasser injuries. This means that in the event that the dog bite happened on private property that the injured party did not have permission to be on, the injured party will not be able to recover compensation. Bear in mind, however, this applies only to private property, not public property such as sidewalks.
Before contemplating legal action, it is important to assess and treat the damage from the bite itself. Even a bite from a smaller dog can become a huge problem if it gets infected. Due to the amount of bacteria in a dog’s mouth, the chance is high. There are steps you can take to treat the wound and minimize the risk.
A doctor visit is essential after you’ve been bitten. Dogs can carry a variety of incredibly harmful diseases, including rabies, MRSA, and tetanus. These types of bacteria require antibiotics to combat.
If not treated properly, dog bites can lead to serious infections that can cost you much in the way of medical bills, especially for treatment of intensive infections. In the worst case scenario, they may be responsible for you losing part or all of a limb. In such cases, if the dog bite was unprovoked and the owner did not do anything to prevent it, you have a right to seek damages from the pet owner.
Damages from a dog attack often include: medical bills, surgery costs, time off work, lost earning potential, time spent traveling and visiting doctors, plus pain and suffering.
Dog bites can cause all different types of injuries, each of which can be painful, debilitating, costly, and emotionally damaging. Some common injuries from a dog attack, include:
When it comes to injuries resulting from an unprovoked dog bite anywhere in Watford City or McKensie county, you need an experienced team to advocate for you. You deserve compensation for the harm you’ve suffered, and our team is the best to help you get it. Contact our experienced dog bite lawyers at (701) 609-1510, or fill out our online contact form today.
Anybody, adult or child, can be traumatized by the injuries and scarring from a dog bite. As much as we can forget it sometimes, dogs are predators, and even a familiar dog, like a friend’s pet, can bite if provoked enough. Whether you know the dog or it belongs to a stranger, victims of dog bites have the right to pursue compensation for their injuries in North Dakota. But you need to act quickly after the injury to protect both your legal rights and your health.
Insurance companies will often seek to mitigate their payments to you. They will fight to sway the court’s opinion and keep you from getting full and fair compensation. If you need help covering medical expenses related to a dog bite, the experienced attorneys at Sand Law may be able to help. We serve the city of Bismarck as well as Burleigh County, and the entire state of North Dakota.
Depending on the severity of the bite, you can be eligible for a variety of damages. While circumstances vary, here is a general list of damages that you may be able to pursue in the event of a dog bite injury:
Insurance companies will look for any way to avoid paying out for damages like these, and will likely seek to prove you were the cause of the bite by implying you provoked the dog, and thus are responsible. Sand Law’s attorneys can help make your case solid and prove that you were not at fault for your injury.
Dog owners have a responsibility to ensure that their pets are well trained and socialized to get along with humans. Some dogs, however, have timid personalities or a fear of humans other than their owners. Most dog bites happen because the dog feels threatened or otherwise uncomfortable, and it is the owner’s responsibility to keep an eye on their pet. If a dog seems like it may bite due to feeling threatened, they should move it to another room until it is safe to let it out, or otherwise remove it from the threatening situation.
Sometimes owners have to leave their pets with sitters or caretakers while away for extended periods of time. When this happens, they will often need to leave instructions for taking care of the dog relating to food and activity habits. If a sitter neglects those instructions, it can make the animal agitated and stressed, increasing the chances it may lash out and bite someone.
Dogs require a level of physical activity to stay healthy, and daily walks are an essential part of that. During such times, however, dogs need to be kept on a leash, as the often chaotic sights, sounds, and smells of the outside world may agitate them. The same goes true for dog parks, where the presence of so many other animals may cause a dog to become stressed out, leading to aggressive behavior. It falls on the owner of the dog, or the provider of the walking service if that’s the case, to be familiar with the animal in their care and keep it under control.
Any of the above people can be held responsible if a dog bites you. While sometimes dogs develop aggressive personalities by nature, in most cases, dogs raised in human homes are well socialized and friendly. However, even the most well-trained dog has a limit before it becomes uncomfortable, and if it’s early warning signs are ignored, it may lash out and bite. It’s on owners and caretakers to watch their pets for signs of them being uncomfortable, and take steps to address it before the dog lashes out.
One important thing to keep in mind about dog bite legislation in North Dakota is that the state doesn’t have any specific statute in state law about bites – only using dogs as hunting partners. Thus, the idea informally known as the one-bite rule is often the go-to legal route when it comes to proving negligence on the part of a dog owner.
To put it simply, the one bite rule gives a dog owner one “free” bite. It assumes that the first time a particular dog bites someone, the owner had no idea it would do so, and thus is not responsible for that particular bite. However, if the dog ever bites another person again, the owner can be held liable. Once an owner knows that the dog might bite someone, it is their responsibility to mind the animal and keep it out of situations where another bite might occur.
The exception to the one-bite rule is if the owner had reason to believe the dog may bite beforehand. A scenario where this would apply would be something like if the dog had a previous owner who documented aggressive behavior, and whoever took ownership of the dog after the original owner knows about that behavior but does nothing to mitigate it.
Dog bites can cause all different types of injuries, each of which can be painful, debilitating, costly, and emotionally damaging. Some common injuries from a dog attack, include:
When it comes to injuries resulting from an unprovoked dog bite anywhere in Bismarck or Burleigh county, you need an experienced team to advocate for you. You deserve compensation for the harm you’ve suffered as a result of a pet owner’s negligence, and our team is the best to help you get it. Contact our experienced dog bite lawyers at (701) 609-1510, or fill out our online contact form today.
Some dogs are fluffy and cuddly and the biggest danger they pose is peeing on your new Turkish rug. But for others, a dog’s tendency to be aggressive can pose a real concern, both to people they are familiar with and strangers. Some dogs, just because of personality, and others because of their inbred genetics, can occasionally exhibit aggressive and territorial behaviors that can lead to serious injuries.
If you were injured during a dog attack, we strongly recommend that you seek legal counsel from an experienced North Dakota dog bite attorney to see if your case qualifies for compensation. There’s no obligation during a free case evaluation, so it’s worth it to at least speak to an attorney. The experienced Minot dog bite attorneys at Sand Land are happy to help. We’ll answer your questions and help you to determine your options and understand your rights.
North Dakota does not have a specific personal injury statute that deals with dog bite injuries. Instead, North Dakota injury attorneys refer to a previous case (known as case law) to prove dog bite cases. The case that most attorneys refer to is known as Sendelbach v. Grad. This case allows attorneys to prove that dog bite victims deserve compensation because a dog bite injury fits within the standard negligence laws in North Dakota.
Attorneys use this case to argue that dog bite owners have a ‘duty of care’ to prevent their dog from attacking and biting other people.
Sand Law PLLC is experienced in handling dog bite cases in Minot and across North Dakota. Our aggressive dog bite attorneys are here to help you understand your rights and get compensation for your dog bite injuries, so contact us today for a free consultation.
A statute of limitations is a time limit for legal cases; basically they require prosecutors or personal injury attorneys to file a claim with the court system within a specific amount of time ensures that the trial is fair, evidence is still reliable, and witness testimony is still accurate.
North Dakota’s statute of limitations for dog bite claims is the same as any other personal injury claims: 6 years from the day the injury occurred.
As we mentioned above, North Dakota doesn’t have a specific law relating to dog bites. Instead, the precedent set by other personal injury cases and the North Dakota Supreme Court case of Sendelbach v. Grad set the standard of negligence in North Dakota in regard to dog bite injuries and damages.
In order to receive compensation for any damages caused by dog attack in North Dakota, you must prove three things:
Courts rely on a concept known as reasonable care to decide whether a dog owner’s had a responsibility to restrain, train, or control their dog so that it wouldn’t attack anyone or cause damage in some other way. The court asks: did the dog owner take reasonable care to prevent the dog from hurting someone?
Although North Dakota doesn’t have a specific dog bite statute, other laws can still be used to prove win compensation for injuries caused by a dog. For example, if a dog bites a woman while they are jogging in the park, and the dog wasn’t on a leash, then an attorney can use local leash laws to prove that the owner was negligent.
Comparative negligence is commonly used in North Dakota personal injury cases that weighs the injured person’s fault for their own injuries versus the fault of the other party. For example, a dog owner’s lawyer may attempt to reduce or deny a dog bite injury claim by using comparative negligence to claim that the injured person was partly or totally to blame for the dog attack.
Using comparative negligence, the judge or jury decides what percentage each person is at fault and reduces the damages by the percentage of fault assigned to the injury victim, assuming the dog bite victim is not more than 49% at fault, in which case they are not eligible for any compensation.
Dog attacks can cause different types of injuries with varying levels of severity that can having lasting damages for victims. Some common dog bite injuries include:
Sand Law has helped hundreds of dog bite victims across North Dakota get the compensation they need to fully recover from their injuries. We have assembled a team of experienced and dedicated personal injury attorneys who are skilled and passionate about representing victims of negligence in all types of personal injury matters, including dog attacks.
We have offices conveniently located in Watford City, Minot, Williston, and Bismarck. We also have a vast network of resources and witnesses that we can employ if necessary to help make a client’s case as strong as possible, helping to ensure our clients get the compensation they deserve.
Contact Sand Law today to schedule your free consultation by calling (701) 609-1510 or by filling our our contact form. We look forward to helping you and your family in your time of need with compassion and understanding.
In the US, more than 38% of households own at least one dog. This statistic—which equates to more than 48 million households—is important in understanding just how common contact with a dog is for most people. In fact, approximately 5 million people are bitten by a dog each year in the United States. That is a lot of injuries that are often overlooked by insurance companies and the population at large as “not serious”. But as someone who has ever been attacked by, say a German Shepard, before knows, it is very serious.
The Center for Disease Control reports that any given American has a 1 in 50 chance of being bitten by a dog in their lifetime. Of those incidents, 1 in 5 require medical attention for their bites.
These statistics stand to prove that dog bites are common and they can and do cause damages and injuries. This means medical bills, lost time off work, and a plethora of other small costs like medications, driving time, surgeries, etc.
If you were injured by a dog attack or bitten by a dog requiring medical attention, we strongly encourage you to speak to a North Dakota dog bite attorney in order to better understand your rights, options, and potential for financial compensation. There’s no obligation during a free case evaluation, so speak to a Williston injury attorney at Sand Law today.
Dog bites can cause a range of injuries, from a little scratch to serious, life-changing paralysis. Below are some of the most common injuries that result from a dog attack or bite.
North Dakota does not have a specific personal injury statute that deals with dog bite injuries. Instead, North Dakota injury attorneys refer to a previous case (known as case law) to prove dog bite cases. The case that most North Dakota personal injury attorneys refer to is known as Sendelbach v. Grad. This case allows attorneys to prove that dog bite victims deserve compensation because a dog bite injury fits within the standard negligence laws in North Dakota.
Attorneys use this case to argue that dog bite owners have a ‘duty of care’ to prevent their dog from attacking and biting other people. One this is proved, the attorney can then use this information to prove that the negligent act (allowing the dog to bite someone) directly caused that person damages and thus deserves compensation.
Sand Law PLLC is experienced in handling dog bite cases in Minot and across North Dakota. Our aggressive dog bite attorneys are here to help you understand your rights and get compensation for your dog bite injuries, so contact us today for a free consultation.
A statute of limitations is a time limit for legal cases. The law requires personal injury attorneys to file a claim with the court within a specific amount of time to ensure that the trial is fair, evidence is still reliable, and witness testimony is still accurate.
North Dakota’s statute of limitations for dog bite claims is the same as other personal injury claims: 6 years from the day the injury occurred.
This may seem like a long time, but the deadline’s importance is not a simple matter of whether or not someone filed within the six years. Instead, every day, week, or month delayed is more ammunition for the defense to claim that the injury or damages are not serious. The typical argument goes something like, “if they were really injured and in need of money to pay their medical bills, why did they wait to two years to file a claim?”
Of course, there are many reasons that someone may wait to file a claim, but in general, the sooner the better.
As we mentioned above, North Dakota doesn’t have a specific law relating to dog bites. Instead, the precedent set by other personal injury cases and the North Dakota Supreme Court case of Sendelbach v. Grad set the standard of negligence in North Dakota in regard to dog bite injuries and damages.
In order to receive compensation for any damages caused by dog attack in North Dakota, you must prove three things:
Courts rely on a concept known as reasonable care to decide whether a dog owner’s had a responsibility to restrain, train, or control their dog so that it wouldn’t attack anyone or cause damage in some other way. The court asks: did the dog owner take reasonable care to prevent the dog from hurting someone?
Although North Dakota doesn’t have a specific dog bite statute, other laws can still be used to prove win compensation for injuries caused by a dog. For example, if a dog bites a woman while they are jogging in the park, and the dog wasn’t on a leash, then an attorney can use local leash laws to prove that the owner was negligent.
Comparative negligence is commonly used in North Dakota personal injury cases that weighs the injured person’s fault for their own injuries versus the fault of the other party. For example, a dog owner’s lawyer may attempt to reduce or deny a dog bite injury claim by using comparative negligence to claim that the injured person was partly or totally to blame for the dog attack.
Using comparative negligence, the judge or jury decides what percentage each person is at fault and reduces the damages by the percentage of fault assigned to the injury victim, assuming the dog bite victim is not more than 49% at fault, in which case they are not eligible for any compensation.
Sand Law has helped hundreds of dog bite victims across North Dakota get the compensation they need to fully recover from their injuries. We have assembled a team of experienced and dedicated personal injury attorneys who are skilled and passionate about representing victims of negligence in all types of personal injury matters, including dog attacks.
We have offices conveniently located in Watford City, Minot, Williston, and Bismarck. We also have a vast network of resources and witnesses that we can employ if necessary to help make a client’s case as strong as possible, helping to ensure our clients get the compensation they deserve.
Contact Sand Law today to schedule your free consultation by calling (701) 609-1510 or by filling our our contact form. We look forward to helping you and your family in your time of need with compassion and understanding.