Did you know that nearly 5 million people are bitten by dogs every year around the world? Almost 1 million of these bites need immediate medical attention to stop the bleeding and prevent infection. Although it’s very rare for a dog bite to be deadly, it can definitely cause a lot of pain and trouble to the person who is bitten.
This raises a good question – what to do if a dog bit me? A dog attack shouldn’t be ignored, especially if the canine is big and heavy. If you or someone you love has been bitten by your neighbor’s dog, keep reading to learn what to do next.
Make Sure You’re Ok First
Your safety and wellbeing is the most important thing after a dog bite. Make sure that you get away from the dog and seek a safe place where you can inspect your injury. In most cases, the dog might have caused a few scratches and the injury is not dangerous. In other cases, the injury can be severe and it might result in bleeding and pain.
Seek immediate medical attention if you start to see signs of blood. It’s important to have your injury checked and assessed by a medical professional. Some dogs are not vaccinated and they can transmit infections and diseases. Even if your injury is not severe, you should still have a doctor take a look at it to see if it might get infected or not.
Note Down the Events
If you don’t need immediate medical attention, you should note down what just happened. This will help you remember all the details in case you want to file a dog bite lawsuit later on. If you cannot write things down, take out your smartphone and record yourself talking about these events. Mention the location and circumstances of the event, what type of dog bit you, whether the dog owner was present or not, etc.
It’s a good idea to also take a few pictures of your injury and the location where the event occurred. Snap a photo of the dog too, but make sure you don’t get too close to it and risk another bite. Once you have recorded the details, go home and take a closer look at your injury or phone your doctor for advice.
Talk to Your Neighbor or Dog Owner
It’s important to also try to communicate with the dog owner too. If this is your neighbor and the dog showed signs of aggressive behavior before, you should note this down. Each dog owner has a responsibility to keep his/her pet in a leash and controlled, especially if he/she owns large dog breeds such as a German shepherd or Rottweiler.
When talking with the dog owner, try not to come across as angry. See if the dog owner cooperates and realizes the gravity of the situation. Such dog behavior shouldn’t be ignored because it might get repeated later on with another person if the dog somehow feels threatened. Depending on how the dog owner reacts, you might reach a peaceful agreement.
Talk to the Condo Board or Homeowner Association
Especially if the dog owner doesn’t want to take responsibility for the injury caused by his/her dog, you should contact the Condo Board or Homeowner Association in your area. Chances are that the residential building administrative board might take some actions against the dog owner to prevent further attacks.
If you and other people in your area feel threatened by the dog and speak up about it, the condo board should do something to help you. For example, they might establish a meeting to inform the dog owner about the dangers posed by his canine friend. In the best-case scenario, the dog owner acknowledges this issue and at least gets his dog a better-quality leash and dog muzzle. These can prevent further incidents and make you and your community members feel safer when walking around the house.
Consider Filing a Dog Bite Lawsuit
In some cases, the injury done by a massive dog requires immediate medical attention and can be difficult to treat. It might also render a person unable to use a hand or a leg for a period of time until the injury heals. In such circumstances, it’s a good idea to find someone trustworthy who can represent you in the courtroom. A lawyer specialized in dog bites is particularly useful in these cases.
How can an injury attorney help you? Well, he or she can fight for your case so that you obtain compensation for your injury. In some cases, the medical bills for a serious dog bite can get expensive. If more than one person has been bitten or if the dog bit multiple times, the treatment costs can add up. A lawyer will represent you legally and do everything to obtain compensation from the irresponsible dog owner.
Having a lawyer on your side also brings peace of mind. Sometimes you simply cannot cooperate with bad dog owners and a law professional can save you a lot of headaches and time. The attorney will bring the issue in front of a judge and the dog owner will be held responsible in some way. On top of obtaining compensation for an injury, you will also make sure that the dog owner will not get away with this and continue to be a threat to other people.
Now You Know the Answer to the Question – What to Do If a Dog Bit Me?
“What to do if a dog bit me?” is a common question, yet there are not so many online answers for it. Hopefully, this article helped you by providing a few insights on what you should do if a dog bit you or someone you love. Remember that ignoring the incident might make you live in constant fear, so calling an attorney is usually the right thing to do in this case.
Also, don’t hesitate to check out the other articles on our website to learn more about personal injury legislation and how to obtain the maximum compensation in court.
