The consequences of dog bites can extend far beyond scarring or broken bones. Dog bites can cause emotional trauma that sticks with victims for life.
Our firm has represented countless dog bite victims and boasts an exemplary rate of success. We have the experience and know-how to represent our clients in a superior manner.
You should contact a personal injury lawyer if you have been attacked or bitten by a dog. The Santa Rosa dog bite attorneys at Nadrich & Cohen can let you know if you qualify for financial compensation for your medical bills, pain, suffering, lost wages, and more.
How Can a Santa Rosa Dog Bite Attorney Help You?
A Santa Rosa dog bite law firm like Nadrich & Cohen can:
- Investigate your dog bite injury and the circumstances around it
- Identify the dog’s owner or who was responsible for the dog at the time of the attack
- Demand financial compensation for your injuries
- File a lawsuit if you are not offered a fair settlement for your injuries
California’s laws protect the victims of dog bites. California Civil Code Section 3342 ensures that dog owners are financially liable for any injuries their dogs cause to other people unless:
- The dog bite victim provoked the dog, or
- The dog bite victim was trespassing when they were bitten
Those who are bitten by dogs in California while trespassing usually can’t recover financial compensation for their injuries.
What Should I Do After Being Bitten by a Dog?
Those who are bitten by dogs in Santa Rosa should:
- Receive medical attention immediately to get treatment for your dog bite
- Take pictures of their location and injuries as quickly as they can because photos can be great evidence
- Obtain the contact information, addresses, and name(s) of the owner or handler of the dog, as well as that of any witnesses
- Document every event that happened as quickly as possible, as memories usually weaken with time
Dog bite victims who can’t obtain information about the dog owner should contact Sonoma County Animal Control and describe the dog to them.
What Can Dog Bite Victims Recover Financial Compensation for?
Victims of dog bites can obtain significant financial recoveries for non-economic and economic damages. Economic damages are damages that can be objectively calculated, such as financial compensation for:
- Doctor bills
- Lost wages
- Loss of earning capacity in the future
- Hospital bills
- The costs of testing
- Physical therapy
- Rehabilitation costs
- Long-term care costs
- The costs of prosthetics or devices
Non-economic damages are subjective damages that can’t be objectively calculated, such as financial compensation for:
- Emotional distress
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of the enjoyment of life
- The psychological impact that disfigurement has on someone
- The inability to do everyday activities
Your dog bite lawyer in Santa Rosa can help you calculate the sum of your expenses and put a value on your non-economic losses to determine a fair settlement value.
What Are the Most Common Dog Bite Injuries?
It’s not always obvious why dogs bite people. Dogs could be scared of or intimidated by someone. They could also be protecting their territory. Sometimes, dog bites can also occur without warning for no apparent reason.
The severity of dog bites can vary. Some dog bites can be very minor, and others can be severe, requiring emergency medical care. Some of the more common injuries seen from dog bites are:
- Infections
- Puncture wounds
- Damage to soft tissue
- Fractured bones
- Internal bleeding
- Scarring
Do I Need a Dog Bite Lawyer?
You need a Santa Rosa dog bite lawyer if you’ve been injured by a dog bite and wish to recover all the financial compensation that California law entitles you to. Almost all dog bite cases end in dog bite victims being compensated for their injuries by an insurance company.
But the thing is, the goal of every insurance adjuster is to protect their employer’s profit margin, and they’re very good at this. They won’t offer you fair compensation unless you have a lawyer and you risk incriminating yourself if you talk with them instead of having a lawyer talk with them for you.
Insurance companies won’t offer you what you deserve for your dog bite injuries unless you have a lawyer because they know that if they make you a lowball offer, your only choices are to accept it or sue them over it. They know you can’t win a lawsuit against their expensive lawyers if you don’t have an attorney of your own, so they won’t make a fair offer.
Insurance Adjuster Manipulation Tactics
Insurance adjusters are trained to manipulate you into saying things that imply you were at fault for a dog bite. For example, they may trick you into saying something they can twist into implying that you provoked a dog bite, allowing them to pay you nothing for your injuries.
Adjusters are also trained to manipulate you into saying things that imply your injuries aren’t as severe as you’re claiming, allowing them to pay you a lot less than you deserve for your injuries.
Let Your Lawyer Handle the Insurance Company
You need personal injury lawyers who are familiar with dog bite cases on your side to speak with the insurance companies for you and force them to offer you what you’re entitled to under the law for your injuries.
Luckily, since our only fee is a percentage of any financial recovery obtained, and since we don’t charge a fee if we don’t obtain a recovery, anyone can afford to have us represent them.
Reach Out to Our Santa Rosa Dog Bite Attorneys
The Santa Rosa dog bite lawyers at Nadrich & Cohen have successfully represented dog bite victims since 1990. Our team of experienced lawyers, experts, and paralegals have recovered over $350 million on behalf of our clients. We desire to improve your life, and we dedicate ourselves to making Santa Rosa a safer place to live.
Contact us today or text us from this page for a free consultation with a top-rated dog bite lawyer to discuss your legal rights and find out if filing a dog bite claim or a lawsuit is right for you. You may be eligible for financial compensation. And we don’t charge a fee until and unless we obtain financial compensation for you.
