San Francisco dog bite victims should receive help with all medical bills and physical therapy costs they face. They should also get help with the costs of overcoming the pain and mental trauma they may experience.

Dog owners are almost always liable for the harm their pets cause through a painful bite, but their insurers don’t generally accept financial responsibility without a fight. Victims sometimes have to battle to get the truth out in the light before receiving the support they need.

The Economic Damages Dog Bite Victims Must Take On

Dog bite victims can suffer crushed bones in their hands, wrists, and ankles. They can suffer deep tissue damage prone to infection. The recovery can take weeks or months and in some cases the damage to the body is permanent.

These serious consequences often come with an extreme price tag as hospital care, surgery, and physical therapy expenses are totaled.

In most cases, California personal injury law holds the dog owner responsible for these financial damages. The dog owner is held accountable, as long as victims weren’t trespassing at the time of the bite and didn’t provoke the dog.

Victims will be able to seek support for their economic losses through an injury claim.

The claim will ask for compensation for these and other damages:

• Money to pay current medical bills and for the care expected to be required in the future
• Money for the travel costs back and forth to doctor’s offices
• Lifelong financial help if a victim develops a permanent disability
• Support for the cost of care for a disfigurement
• Reimbursement for job income lost while a victim is out of work

A dog bite injury claim must include a full list of these and other damages. Each hardship must be backed with full documentation. Your San Francisco Dog Bite Lawyer would fully investigate your dog bite incident and work with your doctors to calculate what you’ll need to pay for all of your medical expenses now and those to come.

The Non-Economic Damages Victims Must Endure

Unfortunately, economic damages won’t be the only hardships dog bite victims will be put through. Victims also face “pain and suffering” damages. It’s a term given to the physical pain and emotional trauma personal injury victims usually endure. It’s an especially good description of what many dog bite victims experience.

Victims might face extreme pain that keeps them from sleeping and relaxing. In the worst cases, this pain in a hand or foot never completely goes away. Victims might suffer chronic pain and develop arthritis. These awful consequences of a dog owner’s mistakes must be considered when deciding the amount of support a victim receives. Victims could require help paying for medication, pain therapy, and other medical costs.

The emotional toll is another damage that should heavily factor into any settlement check for victims. A dog bite can leave victims with PTSD. They’ll have to overcome flashbacks taking them to the moment of a frightening dog attack. Victims, especially children, may develop a permanent fear of animals and require psychological counseling.

Patients who lose control or partial control over body parts, like a hand, due to a damaging bite can also experience depression and a loss of enjoyment of life. They might have to stop the hobbies they love. They may have to miss out on family activities. Homeowners insurance should be completely responsible for these hardships and they should be reflected in any settlement offer.

Contact a San Francisco Dog Bite Attorney

Insurers should be front and center when dog bite victims deal with medical bills and the emotional fallout of a scary dog bite incident. Unfortunately, they often ignore many of the hardships a victim endures and look to pay for only a single visit to an emergency room. Allow a San Francisco Dog Bite Lawyer to hold a dog owner and insurers fully accountable.

If you or a loved one were bitten by a dog, talk over your best options in a free, no-obligation consultation. Contact us to find out what your injury should be worth and how to make sure an insurance company accepts full responsibility. If we can help you earn more for your injuries, you won’t need any money to hire our skilled lawyers. We don’t get paid unless we win your case. Then our fee comes out of the settlement money an insurer must provide to you.