Atlanta Dog Bite Attorney

Georgia residents love their dogs, including in Atlanta where many households have pets. Unfortunately, despite being man’s best friends, dogs are also animals with deeply ingrained instincts and motives that are often incomprehensible to humans. Sometimes, these mysterious motives cause them to attack.

Dog bites are painful and deeply traumatic, both physically and emotionally. When someone else’s dog bites you, you have every right to file a claim seeking compensation for the financial costs of the injury and for your pain, suffering, and trauma. Call the Atlanta dog bite lawyers at Piasta Walker Hagenbush LLC for representation in this unique claim process.

Why Choose Piasta Walker Hagenbush LLC for Your Dog Bite Attorney In Atlanta

Piasta Walker Hagenbush LLC is a renowned Atlanta personal injury law firm with over $100 million recovered for injured clients, including in Atlanta dog bite claims. Our firm is dedicated to the following:

Personalizing a strategy to recover the maximum compensation available to you
Investigating all aspects of the dog attack and using our in-depth knowledge and experience in Georgia’s dog bite liability law to benefit your financial recovery
A dedication to professional excellence that prioritizes your interests through the highest level of legal services
A history of results in recovering multi-million dollar settlements and court awards for our injured clients puts a powerful voice behind your case
Access to resources such as medical experts and animal trainers to support your case

We provide a free consultation for injury victims. Then, if you hire us, an attorney will work diligently on your case at no cost to you until after we’ve recovered your compensation through a settlement or court award.

Recoverable Damages In an Atlanta Dog Bite Case

Damages range from an emergency room bill, a few days of lost pay, and compensation for pain and suffering from a single bite to severe, lifelong catastrophic injury damages for disfigurement or loss of limb. Common damages recovered in Atlanta dog bite claims include the following:

Reimbursement for emergency medical expenses
Compensation for anticipated future expenses if the bite victim needs antibiotic treatment for infection, reconstructive surgery, physical therapy, or psychological counseling for emotional trauma
Lost income
Future income loss
Compensation for pain, suffering, and emotional trauma
Compensation for catastrophic or permanent injuries, such as scarring, disfigurement, loss of limb, or disability

Damages in dog bite claims are typically covered by the pet owner’s property insurance, even if the attack occurred away from the property.

How Can an Atlanta Dog Bite Attorney Help My Case?

Dog bite claims are not always straightforward. Insurance companies often dispute claims by pointing the finger at the victim and asserting that the dog was provoked. In other cases, they undervalue claims and state that the doctor’s recommended treatment isn’t necessary for your injuries. A claim also requires compelling evidence of the dog’s history of aggression or the pet owner’s negligence. Your attorney from Piasta Walker Hagenbush LLC will assertively represent your best interests throughout the investigation, claim process, and negotiation with the insurance company, always prioritizing your best interests.

Liability In Atlanta Dog Bite Claims

Some states follow strict liability for dog bites, holding the pet owner accountable for all damages caused by their dog, including in dog bite claims. Other states follow the “one-bite rule,” which holds an owner strictly liable only if the dog has bitten at least once before, alerting the owner to the dog’s propensity for biting. In these cases, if it’s the dog’s first bite, the victim has to prove that the pet owner was negligent by violating a leash law or failing to take reasonable care.

Georgia uses a modified one-bite rule under GA Code § 51-2-7 (2020), which states that a dog need not have bitten anyone before, but the dog’s owner is held under strict liability if the dog has any history of aggressive behavior. Otherwise, the bite victim must prove the dog owner’s negligence to recover compensation for their injury-related damages.

A pet owner cannot be held liable if the bite victim was trespassing or committing a crime when the bite happened, or if the dog was a police dog on active duty to apprehend a suspect.

Why Do Dog Bites Occur?

Dogs may be man’s best friend, but they also have sharp teeth and powerful jaws that can cause serious harm. The most common reasons dogs bite include the following:

Food aggression
Territorial instincts to protect their home, toys, or dog bed
Perceived threat
Pain, injury, or illness
Pregnancy or protecting pups
Fear or startlement
Over-excitability during play

In some cases, it’s not possible to understand the dog’s motives. Regardless of the reason for the bite, an injury victim has the right to recover compensation for their injury-related damages as long as they didn’t intentionally provoke or injure the dog. Children are never responsible for provoking a dog or trespassing, so the dog’s owner may still be held liable for the child’s injury-related damages.

Understanding the Dangers of Dog Bite Injuries

Doctors and animal trainers measure dog bite injury severity on the Dunbar Dog Bite Scale, which categorizes injuries by the dog-tooth depth of punctures and the number and severity of the bites. The scale ranges from Level 1 bites with aggression and tooth contact with the victim, including mild abrasions, to Level 5 bites with multiple severe punctures and serious injury. Level 6 bites are less common but deadly injuries, such as those that cause the bite-victim’s death and/or amputation and the consumption of flesh.

Common injuries in Atlanta dog bite claims include the following:

Punctures, lacerations, and abrasions
Scalp, throat, and facial trauma
Degloving, or the pulling back of flesh from the fingers, hands, or feet
Contusions
Traumatic amputations
Fractures
Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) from falls during the attack
Emotional trauma, PTSD, anxiety, depression, and sleep disturbances

A successful dog bite claim in Atlanta recovers compensation for common losses by holding the dog’s owner financially accountable and liable for the injury-related damages.

If you lost a loved one due to a dog attack in Atlanta, a wrongful death lawyer from Piasta Walker Hagenbush LLC can help your family recover compensation and a crucial sense of justice for the devastating loss.

Call the Atlanta Dog Bite Attorneys at Piasta Walker Hagenbush LLC

After the trauma of a dog attack in Atlanta, you don’t have to take on the added distress of a challenging legal process. Instead, reach out to the dog bite lawyers at Piasta Walker Hagenbush LLC for legal representation on your side throughout every step of the process.