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Personal Injury
Miami dog bites are traumatic experiences. These cases may require a Miami dog bite lawyer. Miami dog bite cases happen out of the blue and they may cause significant emotional shock or distress. They may also cause infected injuries making them tragic in some cases.
According to statistics, there are more than 89 million dogs in the entire country. That is an average of 1.7 million dogs per state. Florida is especially something of a dog lovers’ paradise, with many homes owning a dog.
Unfortunately, this large number of dogs and their close proximity results in a high number of Florida dog bite incidents. The Center for Disease Control recently reported that up to 4.5 million Americans suffer dog bites every year. These bites result in at least 800,000 emergency room visits per year and up to 16 deaths.
The law in Miami is that a dog owner is responsible for keeping their dog on a leash. Dog owners must ensure that their animals do not create injury to others.
Under Title XLV, Chapter 767.04, the owner of a dog may be responsible if their dog bites a person. It doesn’t matter if the bite occurred in a public place or on private property. Even if the bite occurred on the dog owner’s property. The owner may still be held liable as long as the victim was lawfully on the property.
The dog owner may be sued for compensation relating to the injuries caused by the dog bite. This would include the cost of medical treatment and physical or psychological therapy that resulted.
In some states, dog bite victims are required to show that the dog owner was careless or negligent. The victim may have to prove that the owner knew that the dog had dangerous tendencies and they were ignored.
There are instances where you may be injured due to a dog attack that may not involve a bite. This may seem like a problem since Miami’s dog bite law only mentions that the dog owner will be liable for a dog bite.
However, it may be possible for you to recover compensation for your injuries. You may be able to do this by showing that the owner was negligent or failed to use reasonable care in preventing their dog from hurting others.
For example, if you are being chased by an aggressive dog and sustain injuries in a fall, you may be able to recover damages for the injuries. You may be able to do this by showing that the owner was careless in failing to keep their dog properly leashed or otherwise negligent.
This can often be tricky to prove because several facts will be involved in the lead up to the attack and injuries you suffered. A skilled Miami dog bite lawyer may help you emphasize those facts that will help you show the negligence of the dog owner.
Miami dog bite law provides remedy to a victim of a dog bite if they were lawfully in the place where the it occurred. A person that is trespassing on private property is not lawfully on the place. If that person is injured, the dog owner can argue that they should not be entitled to compensation since they were trespassing.
However, this doesn’t mean that you can’t recover any damages for your injuries. Sometimes, even if you provoked the dog or entered into private property with a ‘bad dog’ sign without supervision, you may still receive compensation. It is important to consult with a Miami dog bite lawyer to understand what liability and compensation may be viable.
Miami operates a comparative negligence system. In determining who is to blame for an incident, the court may see how much fault each party has relative to the other. Damages may be awarded proportionate to the percentage of fault on the part of each party.
For example, suppose that are walking in the park and accidentally step on a dog’s tail and the dog bites you. Obviously, the dog only bit you because it was provoked. In essence, there may be some fault on your part. Miami’s strict liability law also means that there will be some fault on the part of the dog owner.
Under the comparative negligence system, if the jury finds that you were 30% at fault for the incident, your recoverable compensation will reduce by 30%. This means that if an award of $10,000 may be made as compensation, you will only be able to recover $7,000.
On the flip side, it also means that even if you were substantially at fault for the accident, you can still recover compensation. Technically, even if you are 90% at fault, you can still recover 10% of any amount awarded.
Regardless of whether you think you were at fault or not, it is important that you contact a Miami dog bite lawyer. Especially before you assume responsibility. Many times, things are not always what they seem. There may be other factors that contributed to the incident which you didn’t know about.
A Miami dog bite lawyer may conduct an investigation into the incident to try and understand its root causes. This way, they can tell how the incident happened and where the fault properly lies.
You are entitled to protect yourself from a Miami dog bite. In some cases, even if your defense results in the death of the dog, you may be justified.
You are only allowed to use reasonable force in defending yourself. If you use more force necessary to reasonably defend yourself, the dog owner may be legally entitled to file a lawsuit against you.
How do you know what is reasonable? If the means and intensity of your defense is at the same level as the threat, then your defense will most likely be seen as reasonable.
Depending on your injury, you may be looking at a long period of medical treatment. It is possible that you may need to get rabies shots or other shots to be safe. Always see a medical professional as soon as possible.
Sometimes, you may require care from physical and psychological health therapists. These professional may help you through the trauma of the incident. This can lead to major expenses. That’s without taking into account the wages or income you lost because of the dog bite.
Recovering damages is not always easy. It may require specific proof of the expenses you incurred. Also, expenses you are likely to incur in the course of treating the injuries. Further, may require proof of the damage or loss done to you through the injury.
When there is permanent or severe injury you may need experts such as medical specialists or consultants. These experts help the court understand how much you have suffered and why you are entitled to compensation.
A Miami dog bite lawyer may be able to help with you through this unfortunate experience. You may be able to rely on the resources available to the law firm to establish your claim.
Contact us at PereGonza The Attorneys to learn more about how we can help you in your Miami dog bite claim. Call us on (786)650-0202 or fill our client intake form to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation today.
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