Who Speaks for You After a Dog Bite? North Carolina Dog Bite Attorneys Explain What You Need To Know

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Video Summary**

In this video, attorneys from North Carolina outline the unique challenges of pursuing legal claims following an animal attack. While these cases require proving negligence and identifying medical needs like standard personal injury suits, they differ because finding insurance coverage often requires investigating homeowner policies or personal assets. The firm emphasizes the necessity of immediate legal intervention to ensure local law enforcement documents the incident before evidence disappears or witnesses move away. Experienced legal teams can further investigate a dog’s history and hold authorities accountable if they failed to follow public safety protocols regarding dangerous animals. Ultimately, the goal is to provide full financial compensation for victims who have suffered severe physical trauma or life-altering scarring. Seeking professional counsel early ensures that all critical facts are preserved and that the responsible parties are held liable for the damages.

Transcription of the Video

Clarke: Jeff, I’d like to talk to you for a minute about animal attacks and dog attacks and those kinds of things. How are those kinds of cases the same as other types of personal injury cases?

Jeff: Well, we still have to prove somebody is responsible; we still have an injury and medical treatment that is needed; and we still have to go out and find some way to secure coverage or find assets so that we can pay for the damage that has been done to this person.

Clarke: Now, how are these kinds of cases different from other kinds of personal injury cases?

Jeff: You know, in a car wreck, you have a policy that covers the car that hit you. There is no policy on a dog, for example. So, what we want to do is try to figure out whose dog it is, whether they have been watching it, why it was here, and where this happened. We have to try to find that homeowner’s coverage and do an investigation into the assets of the owner of that dog to try to build up as much coverage as possible to cover these damages.

Often, these dog bites lead to serious injuries where children are mangled, or I’ve seen adults or children killed by dogs or other animals. So, there are a lot of differences.

Clarke: What should a person look for in a law firm after an animal attack?

Jeff: Well, you want someone who has dealt with these cases specifically. We have people on our investigative team who work for the Sheriff’s Department, so they understand the rules of when the Sheriff’s Department is supposed to quarantine dogs, put dogs down, or declare dogs as dangerous. That is important because we want to make sure Animal Control is called right from the beginning, so a report is done.

We want to look into the history of this dog or animal. Has it caused other injuries? Sometimes we can pursue the Sheriff’s Department for not already putting down a dog that they knew was dangerous and didn’t act when they could have.

Clarke: Law enforcement officers or agencies have a specific protocol they are supposed to follow after an animal has attacked. If they don’t follow that protocol, then they could be open to liability as well. But either way, it’s all about trying to compensate this person who has suffered a loss as a consequence of an accident from any insurance policy we can access.

Clarke: Should a person wait and see how things go?

Jeff: We have to move early in these cases. If the Sheriff’s Department does not do a report, then it is infrequently documented that this event happened. I’ve seen homeowners deny that their dog is the one that bit somebody, or that the dog runs off. There is evidence that involves documenting the injuries from the beginning, all the way to where they are scarring. We have to start these investigations very early.

Clarke: In a car wreck, a police officer comes to the scene and generates a report. That may or may not happen in these animal attack cases. If it doesn’t happen, we have to act to make sure these reports are generated or at least these facts are preserved and collected before memories fade, people change their numbers, or people move. If you or someone you know has been injured in a dog attack, call us, and we’ll answer your questions and make sure your case is started right from the beginning.