Even dogs that are well-trained and usually friendly are still wild animals at heart, which means they can be shockingly aggressive if they think they or their owner are being threatened. If a dog isn’t trained and controlled properly by their owner, the risk that it may cause serious injury by attacking someone else gets bigger—and fortunately, so do the odds that the injured victim of that attack can get civil compensation for their injury-related losses.
New Jersey law is generous in terms of the right it gives dog bite victims to sue the owner of the dog that attacked them. It can still be crucial to have a skilled Eatontown dog bite lawyer’s help when pursuing a claim like this. In addition to making sure you get the most money possible from your lawsuit or settlement proposal, our personal injury attorneys can also help you avoid possible legal roadblocks that could keep you from being paid what you deserve.
How State Law Governs Dog Bite Lawsuits
Dog owners are usually strictly liable for injuries their dog causes another person or animal to suffer by biting them. This means that instead of needing to prove a dog owner caused your injuries by doing something specifically reckless or careless, you just need to prove the dog that attacked you belonged to them in order to hold them financially liable for all your bite-related damages, including medical bills, lost work wages, physical and mental suffering, and more.
You can also sue a dog owner over injuries caused by their dog doing something other than biting you—for example, jumping at you and knocking you to the ground. In this scenario, you generally need to prove the dog owner was negligent in some way or that they knew their dog had dangerous tendencies but didn’t do enough to restrain them. Assistance from an Eatontown dog injury attorney can be especially important to pursue this type of claim effectively.
Legal Roadblocks for Dog Bite Victims
A dog owner may not be strictly liable for a bite injury caused by their dog in two scenarios. First, the strict liability rule only applies to bite attacks that happen on public property or while you’re lawfully on private property. This means people who get bitten while trespassing on someone else’s property generally can’t file a dog bite claim based on strict liability.
Second, dog owners may not be held fully liable for damages stemming from a bite injury if they can show the bitten person contributed to causing their injury in some way—for instance, by knowingly taunting or provoking the dog into attacking them. As a dog bite lawyer in Eatontown can explain, this kind of argument may lead to you having a percentage of comparative fault assigned to you for your injuries, which could lead to you missing out on some or even all of the compensation you’d otherwise have been entitled to receive.
An Eatontown Dog Bite Attorney Can Help
Being attacked by someone else’s dog can be a uniquely traumatizing experience, even if you’re able to avoid suffering serious physical trauma. An attack of this nature can cause injuries that linger for months or even years afterward, especially for children or the elderly.
No matter who you are or how you were attacked, you likely have standing to sue the owner of the dog that bit you and demand comprehensive compensation for the harm you’ve sustained. Call an Eatontown dog bite lawyer today to learn more.
