Cowen Edwards Trial Lawyers represents young dog bite accident victims in the Fort Lauderdale area. Our dog bite lawyers offer free consultations to all injured victims, including the parents of children suffering from dog bite wounds. Contact our offices to find out what you should demand on behalf of your child and how to hold careless dog owners and insurance companies fully responsible for recovery costs.
Do I Need To Call a Lawyer After My Child Is Bitten by a Dog?
If a child’s dog bite wound only results in some light scratches or minor bruising, you may not need the help of a lawyer to file a claim. But when a child’s injuries are more serious, like a broken bone or a deep puncture wound, it’s a good idea to protect your child’s interests by turning the case over to a skilled Fort Lauderdale child dog bite attorney.
Dog owners can usually be held fully accountable for most injuries, but when their insurers see the medical bills rising, they’ll fight as hard as possible to avoid liability. Children can need additional support in the future when complications could arise. This expensive price tag will have insurance adjusters looking for ways to blame the child or you for what happened. They could also downplay the injury so they can get away with offering you less for your child’s recovery.
Your Cowen Edwards lawyer fully investigates what happened and backs your child’s case with hard evidence. Then your lawyer demands the maximum in compensation available for you and your family.
Child Dog Bite Hazards in Florida
The Florida Department of Health reports that each year over 600 Floridians are hospitalized due to injuries from dog bites. Sadly, their report also showed that children between 1 and 9 years of age were at the highest risk for dog bites.
Child victims also commonly endure more serious harm because they have less protective muscle and fat when a bite occurs. The wounds can go deeper and even involve internal organs. Children will also be shorter and closer to a dog’s mouth, leaving them vulnerable to severe head and neck wounds.
A child’s behavior can also trigger an aggressive or frightened reaction from a dog. Children can be naturally curious and enter a dog’s enclosure or corner a frightened pet in a family member’s home. These mistakes can lead to traumatic injuries and it’s why dog owners have to be very alert to risks when children are nearby.
Why Do Children Need More in Support After a Dog Bite?
It’s also true that children are still growing and their injuries can cause problems with development in their teen and young adult years. They can require additional surgeries and physical therapy years later when tissue damage or a splintered bone flares up.
Parents may not realize how much they’ll need in support to truly protect a recovering child until they’ve already signed off on a “lowball” child dog bite settlement offer and can’t go back to ask for more. An experienced Cowen Edwards attorney is a defense against these common mistakes when dealing with insurance companies. We take on unhelpful insurance companies and get the most out of a dog bite injury, giving children and their families time to recover in peace.
Who is Liable If My Child is Bitten By a Dog?
A dog owner will almost always be fully responsible if a child is bitten. Families can seek help in paying medical bills, and physical therapy expenses and even earn support for emotional damages.
Florida follows the legal concept of “strict liability.” Strict liability holds dog owners responsible for every bite, no matter the dog’s history.
The dog may have never shown aggression before, but the dog owner can still be accountable for a wound, even if it’s a first-time incident. The approach makes it easier for victims to hold pet owners legally responsible.
The dog owner would be liable as long as the following were true:
- The dog bite victim didn’t provoke the dog. However, young children aren’t always held responsible for their actions, so a dog owner may still be found responsible for not taking precautions to keep curious children away from a pet.
- The victim wasn’t trespassing on private property. This rule, too, may not apply to a child victim. Children, with their still-forming brains, don’t always use the best judgment and are often exempt from taking legal responsibility for their actions. An owner may be liable for having a dog in an enclosure that a determined child could find a way into.
Your Fort Lauderdale dog bite lawyer would be gathering evidence including witness testimony, surveillance video, and documents showing any prior issues with a dog. This evidence would be used to force a homeowner’s insurance provider to extend proper support to recovering children. This evidence might also be used to back up a lawsuit in court if a dog owner or an insurer refuses to accept full responsibility.
Compensation for Fort Lauderdale Child Dog Bite Victims
Your attorney will be fighting to force insurers to cover every current medical bill a child has built up. The support should also cover every complication a child may face in the years ahead due to a serious bite wound.
Your Cowen Edwards attorney would be demanding a settlement check that covered a few things you might not have known could earn additional support:
- Totals on current medical bills and estimates on the cost of care in the future.
- Money to pay for physical therapy treatment for children to relearn how to walk or use their hands after nerve, tendon, and ligament damage.
- Long-term costs associated with a permanent physical disability suffered by the child.
- Support for the physical pain children endure in recovery.
- Support for emotional trauma children are put through due to a frightening dog attack. This can include the PTSD symptoms suffered after a bite and the fear of all animals that may develop.
- Loss of enjoyment of life as your child is forced to give up hobbies and family activities due to injuries.
- Travel costs as parents must find ways to get children to doctor appointments and to appointments with out-of-town specialists.
- Money for property damage.
- Income and benefits parents lose while missing work to care for an injured child.
Contact a Fort Lauderdale Child Dog Bite Lawyer
Dealing with injuries and the emotional fallout from a dog bite can be really difficult, especially for young victims. However, our experienced team of Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyers focuses on dog bite cases and the full physical and emotional recovery of victims. We also want families to recover financially.
Don’t hesitate. Contact us now for a free consultation to get started. There’s no obligation, but if you feel we can help you earn more for your child in an injury claim, you won’t need to have the money to pay our lawyers. We don’t get paid unless your case is successful. Then our fee comes out of the money an insurance company must pay you and your family.
