Clearwater Dog Bite Attorney
Our Clearwater dog bite attorneys understand that dog bites and animal attacks can cause serious personal injury or even death. Even when the injuries are not life-threatening, a dog attack can leave the victim with facial scarring, crushed bones, nerve damage and psychological trauma. These injuries may take months or years to recover from or even be permanent. When the victim is a young child, as so often happens, the magnitude of the tragedy may be many times greater. In most cases, dog attacks could be prevented if the owner took more care in controlling the animal or maintaining their property. Regardless, dog owners are liable for injuries caused by their animals, and the dog bite attorneys at Roman & Roman in Clearwater, Tampa & Hudson have the knowledge, skills and experience needed to hold dog owners accountable and recover a full and fair amount of compensation for dog bite victims and their families.
We’ll Provide Legal Representation and Inform You Your Rights
The law in Florida is that dog owners are strictly liable when their dog bites a person. Strict liability means that you do not have to prove that the owner was negligent in the way the dog was kept or controlled. It also does not matter whether the owner had any prior knowledge that the dog might be dangerous; owners are liable the very first time their dog bites someone. This strict liability applies to any attack which occurs on public property, and even on the owner’s own property if the dog bite victim was lawfully on the property on at the time.
Clearwater Dog Bite Injury Attorneys
Even though dog owners are strictly liable for their animal’s behavior, the Florida rules of comparative negligence may apply. This means that as the injury victim, if you are considered to be at all to blame in causing the accident or injury, then any amount of money you recover will be reduced in proportion to the percentage of fault assigned to you. In the case of dog bites, dog owners and their insurance companies may try to claim that you provoked the attack by your own actions, or that your own carelessness somehow led to the bite. This is often a very subjective area that requires considerable effort from skilled litigators to make sure you are not unfairly blamed in any way for the attack when you are not responsible.
Another way dog owners may escape liability is if they had a “bad dog” sign posted prominently in their yard. In this case, the owner can still be liable if he or she was negligent in any way, such as allowing the dog to roam freely or on too long of a leash in an unfenced area. This “bad dog” sign defense also does not apply when the victim is under six years old.
Get Help from Experienced Clearwater Dog Bite Injury Attorneys
Dog bite injuries are painful and traumatic. Even with strict liability, proving the case against the dog owner, including all of the victim’s medical expenses and other legal damages, can be a challenging task. Make sure you get help from skilled and experienced dog bite attorneys who know the proper steps to take to ensure you are fully compensated for your injuries. Contact the Clearwater dog bite injury attorneys Roman & Roman for immediate assistance. We’ll take your personal injury, criminal defense, and business and real estate case on a contingency fee basis, which means that if we don’t get a recovery for you, you won’t owe us a thing.
