This website is maintained by the Law Offices of Dean Malone, P.C., a Dallas, Texas law firm representing people across Texas for dog bite injury cases. We have attempted to provide useful information for those harmed by animal attacks.
There are no legal provisions in place to help dog bite victims in Texas with medical costs, even if they suffer life-threatening and disfiguring injuries. This is true in California, as well, and at least one woman is trying to do something about it. Genevieve Banda of Redlands wrote to a legislator with a proposed bill intended to assist dog bite victims by providing funds to be used for medical expenses.
Dogs are required to be registered in California, and Banda’s proposed bill would tack on an additional fee which would be placed in the dedicated fund that she proposes. The cost for small dogs, she suggests, would be $1 or $2. For dogs with vicious tendencies, the cost would be high enough to possibly be a deterrent to potential owners.
Obviously, if there were fewer dogs in our communities that are prone to bite and seriously maim or cause fatalities, fewer people would be badly injured or killed by dogs. Children are the ones who suffer dog bites most frequently and most severely. It’s a sound idea to try and deter owners from choosing to own dogs that are known to bite by requiring a steep fee along with the usual registration.
According to Banda, the response so far from legislators has been that there are more pressing issues that need attention.
Would some sort of required registration and fee for dog owners in Texas be a good idea, as a way to lessen the occurrences of dog bite injuries as well as provide financial assistance for victims of dog bites?
Are you suffering from an injury as a result of a dog bite? If you or anyone you know needs legal assistance related to a dog bite injury or fatality which occurred in Texas, contact Dallas personal injury attorney Dean Malone at (214) 670-9989.
Whether you were walking along the street in your neighborhood or from your car in a shopping area, the dog bite attack you suffered has likely left you with injuries that have cost you significantly. Worse, expenses continue to pile up.
Your Dallas dog bite injury lawyer will ask you to keep track of all damages and expenses you incur as a result of the attack. This will give him a figure to use when sending the demand letter to the defendant’s insurer. A useful and organized way of recording these expenses is by maintaining an expense ledger.
Any form that clearly delineates the various categories of expenses is fine. You will be adding to the ledger for some time, however, so be sure to use a booklet with adequate pages, or a loose-leaf binder that can be added to.
Among the expenses and damages resulting from the dog bite injury you will want to record are all medical center costs, doctor bills, and physical therapy bills. If you are too injured to drive yourself to your appointments, include cab or bus fares. Even if you drove, keep track of your mileage and fuel expenses. You also will want to include peripheral costs such as payment to clean you house and yard when you are too injured to do so yourself. And, of course, all hours lost from work should be delineated. Keep all receipts, invoices, and bills in an envelope with the ledger.
Taking the few minutes of trouble to record these expenses as they occur will pay off in the long run. If you have been injured in a dog bite attack, call the Dallas Law Offices of Dean Malone at (214) 670-9989.
Since your dog bite injury attack, life has been a nightmare. Not only are you in constant pain, you can’t do what you were able to previously, let alone go to work. You simply want to heal and get on with your life.
It is understandable that you are anxious to get your case settled, but don’t do anything rash. This includes communicating with the defendant’s insurance company. You may feel this will help expedite matters. After all, your medical bills are piling up, and you aren’t making any money to pay them.
The truth is, the defense’s insurer would like nothing better than for you to contact them. They may even seem helpful on the phone with you. However, what you tell them may have consequences for your claim. In fact, with one statement you could destroy your entire case!
Your best option is to retain a Dallas dog bite injury lawyer. This individual will make necessary contacts on your behalf. He will know precisely what to say, and what not to say. It is a reflection on how big a mistake it would be for you to make this communication, yourself, that once you have a lawyer, the insurance company is prohibited by law from contacting you directly for any reason.
There may be circumstances when it is useful to contact your own health insurer. Because you are not trained in the law, however, it is always advisable to seek your Dallas dog bite lawyer’s advice in such matters.
While you may feel the need to settle your claim as soon as possible, taking matters into your own hands is ill-advised. Your best chance for success is having an injury lawyer represent your interests. Call Dallas dog bite injury lawyer Dean Malone today at (214) 670-9989.
It’s typical for dog bite victims in Texas and elsewhere to experience emotional and psychological issues after being severely attacked by a dog. In a civil case out of Butte, Montana, this week a woman was awarded almost $95,000, which included medical expenses, future medical expenses, and $67,700 for pain, suffering, and emotional distress. The jury basically found that the dog’s owner was responsible for the injuries suffered.
It’s perfectly reasonable to sue someone after someone’s dog bites you, if the circumstances are such that the owner breached his or her duty to protect society from a potentially dangerous dog. In this case, Savannah Jelich sued Ashley Robinson because Robinson’s dog bit her in the face back in April of 2009.
Robinson’s dog is a chow chow named Duchess and the pet had just had a break in the parking lot after being in the car. When the dog was being returned to the vehicle by Robinson, that’s when Duchess bit Jelich in the face, according to documents in the case.
The attorney for Robinson argued that the victim actually provoke the dog and then only sustained a scratch. Apparently the jury didn’t agree and, specifically, awarded $24,400 for past medical expenses, $3,900 for future medical expenses, and the remaining amount of the $95,000 for emotional distress, pain, and suffering.
Are you suffering from an injury as a result of a dog bite? If you or anyone you know needs legal assistance related to a dog bite injury or fatality which occurred in Texas, contact Dallas personal injury attorney Dean Malone at (214) 670-9989.
It stands to reason that a person who is attacked by a dog and injured, especially without provocation, may be able to recover damages for the injuries he or she suffers. Often, as well, such victims suffer mental distress from the dog attack for which they are able to receive compensation. But what if you are a witness to an attack?
The state of Texas recognizes the fact that under certain circumstances bystanders may suffer emotional injury by witnessing a dog bite attack. Texas law allows these individuals to seek compensation for their pain and suffering. The law limits who can claim injury under the Bystander Law to a parent or child of the dog attack victim. Moreover, the victim must either have been severely injured or killed.
For a person to claim emotional injury under the bystander law, he or she must be at the scene of the dog bite attack, and must witness it as it occurred. The mental injury must result from observing the attack, and at the time, rather than from learning of the attack second-hand. Further, the bystander must prove that the attack occurred due to the negligence of the person responsible for the dog, generally the owner or caretaker.
One can imagine why this law makes sense. A mother who is at a park with her toddler when a dog suddenly lunges after the child and savagely attacks will naturally suffer serious trauma. If the toddler dies in the attack, the mother will be left with a terrible emotional scar that can never heal.
If you are a victim, or witness a child or parent victim in a dog bite injury attack, it may prove beneficial to secure legal representation. Call the Dallas Law Offices of Dean Malone at(214) 670-9989.
