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2 Ways That A Personal Injury Attorney Can Help If Your Dog Bites Someone

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One of the most frightening things for a dog owner is the idea of your dog biting someone, mostly because the penalties for that action can result in a lawsuit against you. While it may seem that the law is stacked against you if your dog bites someone, there are actually several ways in which a personal injury attorney can help you, such as the two listed below.

Provocation

One of the most common defenses at your disposal if your dog bites someone is to prove that your dog was somehow provoked. While this can sometimes be quite difficult to prove, you can often have the case dismissed outright if you can prove that the person who was bitten was actually bothering or tormenting your dog. Your attorney will often interview eyewitnesses to determine if he or she can find proof of provocation, such as an individual cornering your dog or throwing items at your dog.

In addition, if a dog is startled or in pain, your attorney can use that as proof of provocation because a dog's instinct will be to lash out at whoever frightened or hurt him or her. An example of this would be someone accidentally or purposely stepping on the dog's tail or paw.

Assumption Of Risk

Another way that an attorney can help you protect your finances and your dog is by attempting to use the concept of "assumption of risk" as a defense if you are sued or if animal control is attempting to seize your dog after a dog bite. Basically, "assumption of risk" means that you actually provided fair warning and notice that your dog may be aggressive as well as took steps to keep your dog secured, but the person who was bit decided to approach the dog. 

One of the ways in which this approach can help you is if someone jumps over the fence into your yard without an invitation and gets bitten by your dog. In that situation, you kept your dog secured within your yard but the person who was bitten was negligent when he or she decided to trespass and approach your dog. This approach can also be used if you were out walking your dog on a leash and warned someone that was approaching your dog to stay away from the dog, but they decided to approach him or her anyway despite your warning and attempt to keep the dog away from him or her. 

Contact a personal injury attorney immediately if your dog has bitten someone in order to discuss the strength of your case and potential defenses that can protect you and your dog. An attorney can help you in this situation by trying to prove that your dog was provoked or by using the "assumption of risk" defense to prove that the person who was bitten was negligent. Check it out.


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