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What To Do After a Dog Bite

It is important to identify the animal that bit you, because if it is a stray and you cannot identify it, you're facing the possibility of having to submit to treatment for rabies, which can be painful. Also, if you were attacked by a dog or any wild animal being kept by a person, you probably are entitled to receive compensation from the animal's owner, and you might really need that compensation to pay your medical bills, reimburse you for lost income, pay for cosmetic surgery in the future, and help you overcome the pain and suffering from your injuries.

After any incident related to an attack by an animal get medical attention as soon as possible. You will be in good company, because 1,000 Americans arrive in emergency rooms every day of the year because of dog bites alone! If you are wounded on the face, insist on treatment by a plastic surgeon because emergency room doctors are great at keeping people alive but not necessarily the best at making stitches and wounds look good. After that, be sure to follow the directions of the physician and take all the medications that are prescribed (except for the painkillers, which usually are at your discretion). You might also be ordered to stay out of the sun, use sun block, use scar reduction lotion, change bandages, report for follow up treatment, report for removal of stitches, massage the healing areas, etc. If so, do it!

The decision as to whether you need rabies shots must be left to your doctor. Shots are not always called for, because rabies may not be in your geographic area. Don't be alarmed if your physician tells you that you don't need this painful treatment.

If the dog owner is insured, you might get a call from an insurance company representative. You should ask him or her for the following information:

Do not do any of the following:

Call us 1-888-405-2004 or 1-310-492-2000 and make an appointment so we can pursue your case…

The risks of not retaining an attorney

If you are dealing with the insurance company without an attorney, then, as seriously as you are taking your injuries, the insurance company isn't -- you can be assured of that. Other people with similar injuries have retained attorneys to present their claims to that same insurance company. One thing that all those people have in common is an attitude of seriousness about what happened to them, and a driving desire to make sure they are treated fairly. The insurance company will pay the proper amount to those people, but not the ones who don't take the initial step of protecting their rights by retaining an attorney.
The person at the insurance company that you are dealing with (called the "adjuster") might well appear sincere and sympathetic -- a very, very nice person, a caring person. However, he or she has to report to other people you will never talk to: a supervisor, a claims examiner, a regional manager, and finally the corporate office. The adjuster is paid a salary and has a family. He or she wants to continue working for that company, and maybe get a raise and a promotion. None of that will be risked for you.

Even if the adjuster wants to help you, because of some bond that you believe has developed between the two of you, you will not necessarily be treated fairly by the supervisor, claims examiner, regional manager, and corporate office. They don't know you. To them, you are nothing but a person without an attorney.

You are not dealing with the adjuster, you are dealing with a faceless corporation, and to that corporation you are nothing but a file, a liability, someone who wants money that otherwise would be distributed to the shareholders as profit.

If you do not retain an attorney, you are on your own, against all those people at the insurance company, and all of its lawyers. Contact Us Today!

You will receive MORE money -- not less -- even after paying the legal fee

By not having an attorney, you will end up with less money, even though your lawyer will be paid from the settlement. This is because people without attorneys receive only 10% - 20% of the value of the claim (measured by the ultimate yardstick, namely the amount that a jury would award after a trial). In other words, the insurance company ends up keeping 80% - 90% of your money for itself. With an attorney, however, you will receive more money because the insurance company has to pay 100% of the value of the claim -- not just 10% or 20% of it. This means that you will receive 67% of the value of the claim. The other 35%(if litigated or goes to court 45%) will go to your attorney, assuming his fee is that much. This 55-65% is obviously several times more than the "do-it-yourselfer's" 10% - 20%. (Remember also that with or without a lawyer, you also have to pay for costs.)