Child Dog Bite Lawyer: Protecting Your Child After a Dog Bite Incident

There’s nothing more terrifying than watching a child suffer. When a dog bites a child, it can cause the same amount of physical and mental trauma as a bear attack causes an adult, especially if the child is small, young, or inexperienced. 
 
Parents are often left to deal with the aftermath, navigating the medical space for treating their child’s injuries while wondering who to file a claim with and how. 
 
Dog owners may try to downplay or shift blame onto the child to protect themselves and their dogs from consequences. Even if they take responsibility, shameless insurance companies may try to use small details to victim blame your child in hopes of saving an amount insignificant to them but critical to your child’s recovery. 
 
The maze a parent has to navigate after a dog bite incident involving children can leave you asking what to do after a dog bit your child and how to find a child dog bite lawyer who can help seek fair compensation and hold the pet or property owner accountable.

Parental Guidance and Legal Advice for Parents After a Dog Bite – Key Takeaways:

• If a dog bites your child, seek immediate medical attention and request copies of all medical documents, including bills.
• Consult a personal injury lawyer early – they can help you file reports, gather evidence, and prove your child didn’t antagonize the dog or trespass in any way. 
• Dog owners are typically liable for the injuries that their dogs cause, meaning their homeowners or renter’s insurance covers medical, financial, emotional, and psychological damages that the child had to endure.
• If a grooming or kennel service was responsible for the dog at the time it bit a child, they may be found liable instead.
• The legal situation can get more complicated if the dog attacked in self-defense or bit an uninvited trespasser on private property.
• Insurance companies may try to blame the child or offer an unfair settlement while they know your family needs help, hoping you’ll take it.

Dog bites can cause severe and lasting physical and physiological trauma to a child that requires long-term care and support. These incidents can take parents out of work, rack up medical bills, and put an emotional strain on the whole family. But once you accept an unfair settlement, you may forfeit your right to future financial compensation. 
 
This article will outline possible strategies you can implement if your child is bit by a dog. If you meet with attorneys with Zinda Law Group, we can reveal your legal protections and offer parental guidance. We can explain how a free consultation with a child dog bite lawyer from Zinda Law Group can help you assess the situation and chart a course for your child’s recovery.

 

What Parents Should Do After a Dog Bites a Child

Our legal advice for parents after a dog bites their child starts with seeking medical help immediately, followed by documenting the injury, gathering evidence, and deciding whether a police report or restraining order is necessary. An experienced dog bite injury lawyer can handle this process on your behalf.

Seek Medical Attention

Even if you think the child’s dog bite injury wasn’t severe enough to warrant a hospital visit, consulting a medical professional as soon as possible after the incident is advantageous for a few different reasons. 
 
First, the initial adrenaline rush caused by a dog attack can cause even a child to underestimate the injury, as a dog bite can cause nerve damage even in cases where the skin isn’t ripped open. 
 
Having a medical professional examine your child’s injuries also solidifies an official record of the incident and accurate documentation of the injury and treatment details while it’s all still fresh. Guide your child in following the doctor’s recovery instructions, including attending any follow-up appointments.

Consult a child dog bite lawyer

We suggest an attorney consultation early in the process. An attorney experienced in child dog bite injury cases can file reports with animal control and obtain any police reports and medical records on your behalf. These records provide compelling evidence when it comes time to prove your child’s story.
 
Many injury lawyers worth their weight offer a free attorney consultation. In fact, our crack team here at Zinda Law Group works on a contingency fee basis, meaning you won’t ever have to pay us – we simply take a cut of your settlement if and only if we win. 
 
A personal injury attorney can advise you and your child on how to pursue and track their recovery and guide you through the process of documenting the incident by gathering evidence while it’s all still fresh. We can also let you know if the settlement the insurance company offers you is fair before you sign away your right to more recovery.

Document Your Injuries 

Take pictures of your child’s bite wounds every day to track their healing. Not only does this help your records for legal action, but it also identifies any complications right away. 
 
Keep a “pain journal” where you report on your child’s injuries and any moments of frustration, as the injury will inevitably affect you and your child’s daily lives. Be honest about the pain, suffering, and mental anguish caused, not just to the poor child the dog bit, but also to the whole family. 
 
Dog bite lawsuits can be drawn out, especially if the victim is a child. Unfortunately, we’ve seen insurance company lawyers stoop as low as to use details your child can’t remember clearly against your case. Any and all documentation you make during the healing journey can help protect your child. 

Gather Evidence

Be sure to take down the names and contact info of any eyewitnesses and all the information you can about the dog owner. 
 
Take photos of the area where the dog bite attack happened, and note whether your child was in a public space or on private property. If the dog bite incident occurred in public, was the dog on a leash? If it happened on private property, whose property was it?  
 
An experienced personal injury lawyer can advise you on whether or not filing a police report is in the best interest of your claim. If the dog belonged to a neighbor and the incident resulted in tension, your dog bite attorney might suggest a restraining order for the safety of you and your child. 
 
We’ll talk more about the benefits of a dog bite attorney later on. First, let’s examine who is liable when a dog bites a child. 

Who is Legally Responsible for a Child Dog Bite?

While dog bite laws vary from state to state, the dog owner or the pet’s handler at the time of the incident are the most common parties found to be liable for injuries the animal causes to a child. 
 
Of course, there are possible exceptions to this, such as in cases where the dog was provoked or if the child was trespassing onto the dog owner’s property. Insurance companies can act in shameless ways and they may try to assign the child at least partial responsibility to avoid paying the full amount your family deserves.
 
Another exception that can muddy the water of clear responsibility is if the attack didn’t happen on public property. In some child dog bite cases, the property owner is found liable for the attack, even if they’re not the dog’s owner. This is why we suggest recording all the details you and your child can remember while they’re still easy to recall. 
 
Parties besides the dog owner may also be liable for the incident, including:

• Landlords or property owners who knew the dog was dangerous but didn’t take preventative action to keep their child guests safe.
• The people responsible for taking care of the dog at the time of the bite.
• Dog shelters, animal hotels, grooming services, veterinary clinics, pet stores, and kennels are paid by the dog owners to hold and monitor their pets.
• Family members and supervising adults who allowed a dangerous animal around a child.

Remember, filing an insurance claim isn’t technically suing a person or business. It’s ensuring the liable parties’ insurance company does the job their client pays them to do. 

Again, even if the homeowner claims responsibility for their homeowner’s insurance and tries to do the right thing, insurance companies may conduct their own investigation and look for excuses to save money. Our guidance varies on a case-by-case, but there are some general points for parents after a dog bite to keep in mind when dealing with insurance:

• Bring proof that the injuries resulted from a dog attack, such as medical records, photos, and witness statements.
• Demonstrate that your child wasn’t trespassing, nor did they provoke the dog.
• Understand the importance of child and pet supervision – insurance companies may try to blame the parents for a lack of supervision.

After dog bite incidents involving children, dog bite attorneys typically help parents argue on their child’s behalf. They help demonstrate the dog owner’s fault, prove the animal wasn’t provoked, and that no exceptions apply. At the very least, a free consultation with a seasoned personal injury attorney should inform you of what questions to expect from the insurance lawyers and how strong your answers need to be. 

How to Report a Child Dog Bite: 

The first step to reporting a child dog bite incident is to seek medical attention and request copies of all the doctor’s injury paperwork. Then, while the story’s still fresh, contact your local animal control agency and file a report, either in person or over the phone. 

What happens if I file a report about a child’s dog bite using animal control?

The dog responsible for biting your child can be quarantined for ten days. During that time, vets may check the animal for any rabies or health issues that cause it to act more aggressively. Animal control should investigate the owner’s treatment of the animal, as abuse and neglect can both cause a dog to exhibit aggression. 

• It’s usually rare for a dog to be euthanized or “put down,” especially if the animal has no history of violence before the incident. 
• Euthanasia typically only occurs if the dog has rabies, which is incurable, or if they’ve attacked multiple people or caused life-threatening or fatal injuries. 

Our typical legal advice for parents after dog bite attacks is to file against the dog owner’s homeowner or renter’s insurance. Again, there may be some tough questions and bold accusations thrown at you and your child—we handle the process of filing reports and insurance claims for our clients.

Why You Should Hold Dog Owners Responsible If Their Dog Bites Your Child

Holding the owner accountable for their dog’s aggressive behavior could inspire better pet management. Filing a claim can teach pet owners a lesson in management that could save the dog’s life, as well as the life of a future child victim.
 
A pet owner is usually responsible for managing their pet, and well-managed pets should not have the opportunity to bite children. Neglected and mistreated dogs can be the first dogs to act aggressively. If you eat the cost of your child’s medical bills to protect the stressed dog, it might run away and get injured, go missing, or bite someone else more severely and get punished for it.
 
Homeowner’s or renter’s insurance are often found liable for medical expenses such as stitches, antibiotics, rabies shots, and any surgery required after the dog bite, but only if the incident was reported. If the injuries cause complications that require medical attention down the road and the child dog bite incident wasn’t reported, it is likely more difficult to get the treatments covered by insurance. 
 
Insurance can also be responsible for lost wages, pain, and suffering, and that includes any time off of work you take to tend to your child and their medical appointments. Again, if you miss work to take care of your child’s injuries, you’ll have a difficult time getting the lost wages covered if the dog bite incident wasn’t swiftly reported.

Dog Owners Are Responsible for Keeping Children Safe From Dog Bites 

Unfortunately, a common and critical part of our job is giving legal advice to parents after a dog bite. Children are more often bitten by dogs than adults for a few different reasons. 
 
Some of these reasons are the same reasons why dog owners need to pay extra attention to their pets when in the presence of children:

• Children don’t  always understand the danger dogs can pose
• Children may not recognize the body language a dog uses to indicate irritation and aggression. 
• Dog owners are responsible for monitoring their dog’s mood indicators and managing them accordingly to keep children safe. 
• While the specifics of leash laws vary from state to state, the dog’s owner is responsible for controlling the dog’s movements and behaviors in public spaces such as parks and patios.

Dog Bite Injuries Can Cause More Damage to Children

Dog bite injuries are more dangerous for children due to their size. A small child getting attacked by a dog can be comparable to an adult getting mauled by a grizzly bear, not just due to the emotional terror and helplessness a child experiences but also in terms of potential surface area that’s susceptible to physical harm.

• Adults are more likely to be bitten on the leg, hand, or arm.
• It’s more common for a child to suffer injuries to the face, neck, and head due to their proximity to the dog’s mouth.
• Unfortunately, this makes facial lacerations and scarring, nerve damage, and skull fractures more common in dog bit incidents involving children.

The emotional and psychological impact a dog attack has on children is also more severe. Children are less able to process their emotions and experiences through the process of verbal ventilation, which is an essential aspect of both grief processing and trauma recovery.
 
This leads to a higher chance of the child suffering severe emotional distress and acute mental disorders such as anxiety or PTSD:

• Psychological trauma can manifest in a child dog bite victim as a fear of dogs or open spaces, frequent nightmares, disturbed sleep patterns, bedwetting, unstoppable crying, and developmental regression – becoming more attached to one’s parents in a dysfunctional way.
• Child dog bite survivors typically require medical attention at the ER or doctor’s office over two times more often than adults.
• The Center for Disease Control (CDC) reports that dog bites happen to children more often than common childhood illnesses like measles, mumps, and whooping cough combined.
• The CDC notes that incidents of children getting bitten by dogs are more frequent than bicycle or skateboard accidents, playground injuries, or any other childhood injury besides motor vehicle accidents.

Insurance may try to guilt trip you about what might happen to the dog and its owner, but the dog owner isn’t directly paying for the damages their pet caused. Homeowners and renters pay insurance companies for unfortunate situations like this.
 
Holding a friend or family member accountable for their dog can feel awkward, even before the insurance guilt trips begin. And if you don’t know the dog owner, filing a report might save the dog from an abusive home. In some cases, it may even help a suffering pet get treatment for an undiagnosed illness. 
 
Regardless, the pressure is on the insurance company, not the dog owner, to pay for your losses. We suggest looking into the specifics of the child dog bite incident and the dog owner’s insurance policy before you dismiss the idea of holding them responsible. 
 
Our legal team at Zinda Law Group provides legal advice for parents after a dog bite during our free attorney consultation. We’ll examine the best course of action, the dog’s history, and whether or not the state will punish the dog or the owner of the incident.

Why Do Dogs Bite Children?

Understanding the reasons behind child dog bites can help teach pet owners and caregivers how to prevent them. Common triggers include breed-related behavior, dog owner disposition, and behavior, a child or their parent exhibiting aggressive or rash behavior, or children underestimating the danger of dogs. 
 
A substantial number of dog bite incidents occur when children are left alone with untrained dogs, unsupervised. Toddlers can unknowingly provoke a bite by yanking on a dog’s tail or ears or moving abruptly.
 
Another common situation is play that goes too far, as children may approach dogs with excited movements or fail to respect the dog’s boundaries because they don’t understand the difference between the dog’s playful bark and its defensive bark. 
 
This leads a dog to feel threatened and bite in self-defense. Warning signs like raised hackles, growling, or stiff posture indicate that a dog feels its boundaries are being crossed, but children often miss these signs. 
 
At the end of the day, the dog’s owner should be present to set the boundaries and remove their dog from a situation in which it feels threatened before a child gets hurt. 
 
Unsupervised dog bite incidents can be more severe. With no adult intervention to stop the attack, it can last longer, as the child doesn’t have the skills to remove the dog, and there’s no adult around to help.
 
Zinda’s child dog bite lawyers often find that many attacks occur at the familiar homes of friends, neighbors, or family members due to a lack of animal supervision. When the adult in charge of the dog is present to recognize warning signs a child might miss, they can prevent the attack before any injuries occur. 
On that note, let’s examine the statistics behind how often dogs actually bite children. 

How Often Do Dogs Bite Children?

Forbes reports that around 4.5 US dog bites happen annually, with children being the primary dog bite victims. Children ages 1-4 are at the highest risk of fatality as a result of a dog attack, accounting for  70% of all dog bite-related deaths.

Child dog bite statistics:

• 29.4% of fatal dog attacks involve victims ages 1-4
• 56.7% of fatal dog attack victims are aged 16 or under
• Facial injuries happen most frequently to children under ten.
• A high percentage of fatal dog bite incidents involving children happen when the kids are unsupervised.
• Younger children under five years old were more commonly bitten by their family pet or a dog they knew before the incident.

Statistically, most dogs who bite children have never bitten a child. Most dogs don’t need to be euthanized after a dog bite incident, as it’s found to be the owner or handler’s fault. A dog is typically only punished after it establishes a history of violent and aggressive behavior or incurable mentally impairing illness such as rabies.

Common Dog Bite Injuries Parents Should Recognize 

A dog bite can be as traumatizing to a child as any wild animal attack is to an adult. In addition to the psychological injury and emotional trauma parents can seek compensation for, there’s the dreaded physical injury. The head and the face are the most frequent bite injury locations for children due to their shorter height. 
 
When filing your claim, child dog bite lawyers consider the long-term injury consequences, such as: 

Scars and Disfigurements: 

• Dog bite scars and disfigurement are often permanent.
• Depending on the severity, scars may require plastic surgery or a skin graph.
• Surgery may be delayed due to young age, adding to the recovery time or causing complications.

Crushing Injuries

• Crushing injuries are more common with large dogs, especially when they attack a child.
• Depending on the breed, some dog’s jaws pack enough force to break bones
• Crushing also constitutes soft tissue injuries and muscle damage.

Avulsion Injuries

• Avulsion injuries involve ripped or torn tissue
• Avulsions sometimes require reconstructive surgery
• Whether or not torn tissue results in surgery, there’s typically a risk of lifelong scarring

Nerve Damage

• In some cases, nerve damage can heal, while in others, nerve damage is permanent.
• Nerve damage can lead to loss of sensation, a loss of function, and, in extreme cases, permanent paralysis.

Infections:

• The CDC reports that 20% of dog bite injuries become infected after the incident.
• Infection can delay healing and increase the chances and severity of scarring
• Potential dog bite infections include:
  • Rabies
  • Capnocytophaga bacteria
  • Pasteurella
  • MRSA
  • Tetanus

At Zinda, our trained and experienced attorneys can help discuss medical treatments and a deep dive into all available treatment options, as well as advice on legal recourse. Let’s take a look at the process of filing a claim, which a seasoned personal injury lawyer can handle on your behalf.

How to File a Child Dog Bite Claim

 A dog bite claim is typically filed against the homeowner’s or renter’s insurance of the dog owner. If a property owner, dog service, or someone besides the dog owner was liable for the dog bite incident, a personal injury lawyer can help you determine whose insurance to file against. 
 
Here are the detailed steps for filing a child dog bite claim:

 

1. Contact an experienced dog bite attorney.  A seasoned attorney well-versed in dog ownership and child care laws can help you understand your rights and options. Every case is different, and the details matter when determining who’s liable. Regardless of whether you know the pet’s owner or not, an attorney can communicate with their insurance on your behalf while you focus on your child’s needs.
2. Conduct a thorough investigation. Once you have a seasoned dog bite lawyer on your side, they can help guide you through the process of gathering evidence to help you tell your story of what happened.
3. Negotiate with the owner’s insurance company. Remember, you’re not suing the dog owner but their insurance carrier. And you’re not punishing the dog for their owner’s mistakes. You simply ask their insurance company to represent their client by paying you back for your losses.

Now that you’re aware of the claims process, we’ll examine exactly what damages your family is entitled to after a dog bites your child.

What Damages Can I Recover in a Child Dog Bite Case?

Types of damages dog bite injury lawyers can typically recover from insurance after a dog bit your child include:

• Medical bills: medication, hospitalization, stitches, antibiotics, surgery, and recovery expenses such as physical therapy.
• Lost wages: money you missed out on if you couldn’t work because you were tending to your child’s dog bite recovery.
• Loss of earning capacity: the future money your child may miss out on if the dog bite causes permanent damage.
• Pain and Suffering: Compensation for the anxiety, depression, and mental anguish caused by the physical pain and emotional, developmental, or psychological trauma a child experiences after a dog attack. 

A Child Dog Bite Lawyer from Zinda Law Group Can Help

The stress a dog bite incident involving a child puts on a family can test any family’s resolve. The legal process requires us to prove the attack was unprovoked by the child by documenting the injuries and recovery process, gathering evidence, filing animal control or police reports, and negotiating with crooked insurance adjusters.
 
Furthermore, the dog owners might not understand how insurance works, and insurance will use intimidation to convince their clients it’s in their best interest to victim blame the injured child while they are in recovery. 
 
Insurance companies should be experienced enough to know how quickly those bills pile up, and they’ll offer you peanuts if they think you’ll take it. But the effects of a dog bite injury can last for years – leaving little for future treatments, never mind lost wages for any work you missed. But you’re not alone.
 
Zinda’s Award-winning Child Dog Bite Injury Lawyers can seek maximum compensation on your behalf, negotiating with insurance and handling all the report filings and case building while you focus on supporting your child’s recovery. And the best part is we work on a contingency fee basis, meaning you pay nothing unless we win.
 
Don’t leave your family’s mental and physical health in the hands of insurance adjusters. Book a free consultation with Zinda Law Group today.