Spot, Rover, or Lassie can be a child's best friend, or a ferocious attack dog. Any animal can display unpredictable behavior and a dog is an animal. Often, people forget that simple fact. Any person who has been attacked and bitten by an aggressive dog is a person whose life has been changed by that experience. Dogs seem to be everywhere, and just one very bad experience with a dog bite attack can make a person uncomfortable, fearful, anxious, and panic stricken by the mere presence of a dog.
Dog bites hurt, too. Those incisors are intended by Mother Nature for ripping into flesh, and killing the animal's prey. When a dog bites a person, the arm, leg, face, or foot of the person becomes a piece of raw red meat in the eyes of the dog. Something to bite, something to chew, something to eat, according to the rules of nature.
Skin can be torn, ripped, and punctured. Muscles and tendons can be damaged, occasionally resulting in permanent impairment. Usually, scars have some degree of lasting visibility at the wound site.
Dog bites are a serious matter and avoiding their occurrence is every dog owner's responsibility. There is nothing funny or trivial about a serious dog bite injury. It's real, it can be disabling, and it always hurts.
A fascinating and exasperating feature of our society is how so many dog owners assume that everyone else just loves and enjoys dogs, particularly that owner's loveable and playful dog which, of course, never bites. The fact is, in any typical group of twenty adults, there will be a person who, as a result of a past dog bite episode, is prone to panic attacks and paalyzing terror by the mere sight or presence of a dog.
All of us dog owners and dog lovers need to get with it and become a lot more sensitive to the condition of people who have been victims of a vicious dog bite attack. This is not about political correctness. It is about sensitivity to the legitimate needs of others, respecting another person's right to move about in our neighborhoods and take a walk around the block without being forced into an unwelcomed encounter with a dog, or being restricted to a particular path or route in order to avoid a dog allowed to roam the yard and streets because the owner feels his dog has rights, too.
Dogs belong on leashes, behind fences, and out of the faces of young children. Don't expect a dog to be anything but a dog.
In Michigan, if a dog bites a person, unless the victim provoked the animal, the owner of the dog is liable or legally responsible for the injuries inflicted by the dog. The "damages" sustained by the victim may include medical care expenses, income loss, residual scars or disfigurement, pain and suffering, and future fear or fright.
Most dog owners, like everyone else today, have a homeowners or renters insurance policy. That type of policy includes coverage for liability arising from a dog bite attack by the insured person's dog. That insurance company will assign a claims representative to adjust or resolve the victim's personal injury claim.
Who determines the value of the injured person's claim? The insurance adjustor might try to convince you that you should stay away from lawyers and just work with the adjustor and together the two of you will act in a fair manner and resolve the claim. A nice idea but it does not work that way. There has to be balance in the negotiating process and that occurs only when the injured person is represented by an experienced, knowledgeable personal injury lawyer.
If you or a close family member has been attacked and bitten by a dog, consult an attorney who has represented clients in similar cases. Roccchio Law Offices has that type of experience. We can not "guarantee" you any specific result, but we can assure you that we have been around the track enough times to know the terrain and that includes valuing your claim, negotiating a reasonable settlement, and representing you in a respectful and professional manner.
