If you suffer a dog bite injury, it’s important to receive medical attention as an immediate response. Beyond treatment, though, you should consider how it was that this could have occured. Filing a compensation claim for a dog bite can be a little tricky depending on if the dog owner has insurance that covers the dog. And that’s why we have this handy guide for you to read. We’re covering key important factors as it relates to you taking action for a dog bite. And that includes us detailing an illustrative case study with a victim of the same injury receiving a compensation settlement of £25,500.
Dog bite injury compensation
To read on, simply click any of the headings that you can see in the list below. You may also wish to contact our friendly team at any time to discuss a claim. And they could put you into contact with a panel of personal injury lawyers that may handle your compensation case. Simply telephone us on 0161 696 9685, leave us a message on our Live Chat, or complete our contact form.
Choose A Section
- A Guide To Claiming Compensation Payouts For A Dog Bite Injury
- What Is A Dog Bite Injury?
- How Can You Suffer A Dog Bite Injury At Work?
- Dog Bite Injury In A Public Place
- How Can You Suffer A Dog Bite Injury While Driving?
- Let’s Discuss About Personal Injury Compensation Calculations
- What Are Special Damages?
- Case Study: £25,500 For A Dog Bite Injury
- Our Expert Free Legal Advice Can Help Value Your Payout
- No Win No Fee Policies Are Easy
- Your Free Legal Advice Is With Our Experts
- More Resources And Guides On A Dog Bite Injury
- Dog Bite Injury FAQs
A Guide To Claiming Compensation Payouts For A Dog Bite Injury
In this guide, we’re covering each major topic that is critical to your understanding of the claims process. We begin by talking in-depth about what a dog bite injury is, along with recognisable symptoms. Next, we break down how to prove your case for personal injury. This is critical for your claim to be viable and to have a strong chance of winning. After that, we describe three potential scenarios where you might suffer a dog bite, and those holding responsibility. After the case study itself, we delve into the topic of No Win No Fee agreements. And we close things out by answering some questions that often pop up about a dog bite injury claim.
Personal Injury Claims Time Limit
Under English law, you have 3 years in which to start a personal injury claim. But if a child is hurt, their parent or guardian could act as their litigation friend to process their claim. The same applies if the victim has a lack of mental capacity; another representative may handle their claim for them. But their 3-year windows could begin at a later date, should their age or health circumstances change. Find out more by ringing up our helpful team today.
What Is A Dog Bite Injury?
A dog bite injury could occur at any time and in relation to any breed of dog. It involves the dog biting somebody breaking the victim’s skin. Such an incident could happen at any moment, it could bring about a number of physical consequences. Typical symptoms from a dog bite injury include severe pain, bleeding, swelling, bruising, redness and puncture wounds. It’s also possible that the skin itself suffers a hole, in which case medical treatment is strongly advised.
On a similar note, anyone who does suffer a dog bite injury may need tetanus. The reason for this is to prevent the possibility of catching an infection. Minor damage could simply leave the victim in pain for a period of time. But a severe reaction could lead to an infection. All of this is very serious, but it’s especially hard to handle if it occurs through somebody else’s carelessness. We’re covering negligence as the root cause for an injury happening in our next section. Before then, though, please speak to an advisor if you have any questions.
How Can You Suffer A Dog Bite Injury At Work?
Once you consider the fallout of your dog bite injury, it’s time to think about whether you could claim compensation. For making personal injury claims it is often necessary to prove negligence. Firstly, someone owed you a duty of care of some kind. Secondly, there was a breach of duty which led to an incident going down. And lastly, that incident resulted in you being hurt.
It’s possible that this could be due to a workplace accident. Employer’s liability (EL) covers the duty of care that should protect employees from potential injuries in the workplace. The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 provides a thorough breakdown of what that duty of care entails. However, an accident at work that is totally preventable may very well breach that same duty of care. An example is a dog being kept at a scrap yard as potential security. If that dog was to attack an employee because it was not kept in a safe space during operating hours this may be seen as a breach of duty. Find out more by having a word with one of our advisors at any time of the day.
Dog Bite Injury In A Public Place
An accident in a public place is another situation where a dog bite injury may occur. In particular, a public space that is wide open is a potential hotspot for this sort of incident. For instance, a person may suffer a dog bite injury while jogging in a public park. The unprovoked attack could result in a compensation claim. The victim could claim against the dog owners insurance policy for the injury and any subsequent financial losses.
Accidents in public places that could be preventable may breach the duty of care under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957. Public liability (PL) sees those controlling the land holding responsibility if someone is avoidably injured in a public place that they control. Maybe the man who owns the sweet shop at the bottom of the road keeps a dog. If that dog was to attack a customer, the customer may be eligible to claim against his public liability insurance.
How Can You Suffer A Dog Bite Injury While Driving?
A road traffic accident, or RTA, generally doesn’t occur directly due to a dog bite injury. But what if you’re travelling with someone who has a dog? Perhaps it’s for a work-related trip where you and a colleague are driving together, with their pet on board. If their dog bites you, thus causing a crash or collision, this could have serious consequences. Message us on our Live Chat if you need more guidance.
Let’s Discuss About Personal Injury Compensation Calculations
The information from the medical evaluation combines with your own evidence to shape your compensation settlement. Our panel of personal injury solicitors could use the medical report as well as the Judicial College Guldienes (JCG) to determine this amount using the available facts regarding your dog bite injury. The JCG is a publication legal professionals refer to in personal injury cases. It provides bracket amounts for various injuries. They don’t use an online personal injury claims calculator, since that could produce a basic figure that proves inaccurate to your circumstances. It’s vital that the settlement estimate is as close to what you might actually receive as possible.
And that settlement estimate comprises two things: general damages and special damages. Now, general damages focus on the literal pain and suffering due to the dog bite injury. That includes the likes of infections, bleeding and scarring. But general damages also handle any mental trauma that you’re enduring, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). And this is even more significant if you have a phobia of dogs, as PTSD could heighten as a result. Please ring up our specialist team for further advice when it comes to general damages.
What Are Special Damages?
As for special damages? Well, these take care of all the remaining consequences which arise following your dog bite injury. These include any time off work without pay, medical expenses, and also public transport costs if you can’t drive. Note that having receipts and invoices to hand as a way of justifying each special damage could help greatly. Call us up on the number above if you wish to make an enquiry with regards to special damages.
Case Study: £25,500 For A Dog Bite Injury
Mr Armstrong, 32, works in a car scrapping yard. He has worked there for several months now. At the yard, the owner keeps a dog at night to deter people from coming on to his site. As Mr Armstrong came into work the next day as normal the dog was roaming around the yard. Usually, during daylight hours the dog was kept in a cage. When Mr Armtring approached his colleague to ask why the dog was out of his cage he was told that the cage’s lock had broken.
Mr Armstrrong took the dog back to the cage. He tied the cage shut with some old rope and informed his employer. His employer didn’t seem too bothered. As the day wore on the dog somehow got out of the cage. As a customer came into the yard the dog started barking.
The dog turned violent and began barking loudly at the customer. Before Mr Armstrong could react, the dog bit him on the right leg as his colleagues frantically tried to stop it from happening. By now, the owner had appeared, though she was still in no particular hurry.
Nevertheless, the damage was done. Mr Armstrong was screaming in pain before the dog finally ran away. And Mr Armstrong was now in a state of shock and in tremendous pain. The dog had torn quite a nasty hole in Mr Armstrong’s leg. An ambulance was called for.
Mr Armstrong was taken to hospital, where he received a tetanus shot for the dog bite injury. He had to have surgery as the dog had bitten through muscle and tendons. Mr Armstrong would be left with nerve damage to his lower leg. He was also left with a significant scar on his right leg.
Mr Armstrong needed a couple of months away from work. In the meantime, though, Mr Armstrong was still left in a state of deep concern and upset. Friends and family helped him around his home.
After talking with a personal injury lawyer, Mr Armstrong decided to file a compensation claim against his employer. Mr Armstrong received a compensation settlement figure of £25,500, with £20,500 being general damages and £5,000 being special damages.
| Type Of Special Damages | Includes: | How Much? |
|---|---|---|
| Less Serious Leg Injuries | Injury to the soft tissue in the leg and nerve damage. With some functional restriction. | £20,500 |
| Type Of Special Damages | Includes: | How Much? |
|---|---|---|
| Lost Earnings | Lost earnings from being unable to work for 2 months | £4,000 |
| Medical Costs | Costs of medicines and treatment during his recovery | £300 |
| Transport Costs | Costs of using public transport for journeys | £150 |
| Care Costs | Costs of family and friends helping around the home. | £500 |
| Other Costs | Other costs relating to the dog bite injury | £50 |
Note: This story is hypothetical, serving as a mere example of what may happen with a dog bite injury.
Our Expert Free Legal Advice Can Help Value Your Payout
We offer a free consultation as a courtesy to anyone considering a claim. And this includes you pondering whether or not to take legal action after your dog bite injury. That way, we could handle any concerns you may have with regard to the claims process. We can also offer further information about what could make your particular case more viable. And you could receive a glimpse of what is a reasonable financial target for you to claim for. Please contact us today to receive your free consultation from our specialist team.
No Win No Fee Policies Are Easy
It’s quick and easy to arrange a No Win No Fee agreement for your dog bite injury claim. This policy involves you only paying your personal injury solicitor’s legal fees if you receive compensation. The payment comes in the form of a success fee which has a legal cap. That way, you don’t lose a significant percentage of your payout from solicitor legal costs.
However, it also means that you don’t pay your personal injury solicitor if the case is unsuccessful for any reason. And in either scenario, you don’t need to pay anything up-front or while the case is in progress. As you can see, there are clear benefits to the claimant for a No Win No Fee agreement. Message us to ask any other questions you may have about working with a No Win No Fee solicitor.
Your Free Legal Advice Is With Our Experts
All that remains, then, is for us to begin talking to you about your dog bite injury. The information above may inform you as to what you can expect by making a personal injury claim. But we’re sure that you wish to learn more about your specific case. Call our advisors today for some free confidential advice. If after hearing about the incident they think your case has winning merits they can connect you with a personal injury solicitor. All claims taken on by our panel of solicitors will be on a No Win No Fee basis. Just remember, though, that you are not under any pressure to pursue a claim unless you’re 100% comfortable with doing so.
You can get in touch with us in 3 ways. One is to telephone us by calling 0161 696 9685. Another is to provide a quick message via our 24/7 Live Chat service. Or, if you want to go in-depth with your enquiry, you can simply complete our exclusive online form today.
More Resources And Guides On A Dog Bite Injury
After reading this guide about a dog bite injury, you should have the knowledge to know if you have a valid compensation claim. But if you still need further information, we can help you! Check out these extra links for further research below.
We begin by looking at post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after an injury.
Unfair dismissal after a leave of absence due to an injury is also on our site.
And we look at an ankle injury, which could come about due to a dog bite.
Meanwhile, the NHS website has a section where they discuss dog bites.
This includes managing treatment after a dog bite injury.
And this NHS external link is covering extra guidance about dog bite injuries.
Dog Bite Injury FAQs
What type of injury is a dog bite?
This is any injury that sees you suffer health complications after a dog bite.
How do you know if a dog bite injury is serious?
The serious symptoms include pain, redness, swelling and inflammation, as well as muscle weakness.
What should I do if a dog bite injury breaks the skin?
You should seek medical attention if a dog bite breaks any skin tissue.
When do I need a tetanus shot after a dog bite injury?
If a dog has broken the skin seek medical advice as soon as you can. The doctor will advise how to get tetanus jab.
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Published by AL.