Chicago Dog Bite Lawyer

If you have recently been bit by a dog, you may be able to file a personal injury claim against the animal's owner. To successfully bring a dog bite claim, there are few things you will need to do.

For those in Cook County, there is a specific procedure to follow to report a dog bite. First, you will need to contact the local police department. If you are in an unincorporated area with its own police department, reach out to the Cook County Sherriff's department. Once you do, the department will complete a Bite Report, which will be forwarded to the Animal and Rabies Control office. From here, the dog will be examined, and an official investigation will commence.

Reporting a dog bite to law enforcement—while necessary—does not start a personal injury claim against the animal's owner. A personal injury claim is a separate legal proceeding handled by an attorney experienced in dog bite claims.

After you file a report, the next step is to reach out to a dedicated personal injury attorney to discuss how to go about bringing a dog bite case. Working with an attorney is important because an attorney will be familiar with the recovery process and negotiating with insurance companies.

In most dog bite cases, the party defending against your claim will be an insurance company, probably the insurance company that wrote the animal owner's homeowner's policy. The insurance company will try to settle your claim for as little as possible, and an attorney can advocate on your behalf to get you the compensation you deserve.

If the animal's owner did not have insurance, an attorney could help you negotiate your medical bills with the emergency room where you were treated. So, in the event you end up on the hook for your own medical bills, they will not be as high as they would otherwise be.

One of four parties usually ends up responsible for a dog bite victim's medical expenses:

• the injured party
• the injured party's health insurance company
• the animal's owner
• the dog owner's homeowner's insurance company

If a dog bite victim cannot locate the animal's owner or does not pursue a claim against them, but has health insurance, the medical expenses they incur at the hospital can be billed to the health insurance company. If the victim does not have health insurance, they could find themselves solely responsible for the full extent of their medical bills. However, these situations are rare.

A dog bite victim will file a personal injury claim against the dog's owner. Under Illinois law, dog owners are strictly liable for any injuries their animal causes when it bites someone else. If the dog owner has a homeowner's insurance policy, this policy may pay for the victim's medical expenses. However, if they rent, do not have homeowner's insurance, or the dog bite falls outside the policy, the dog owner may be personally liable for the victim's injuries. This is not ideal, as the homeowner may not have the assets to compensate a dog bite victim for their injuries fairly.

In Illinois, you have two years to bring a dog bite lawsuit if your child was bitten. However, filing a lawsuit and reporting the bite are two different things. Before a lawsuit is filed, you will first want to report the dog bite to the local police department.

Filing a report with law enforcement will begin an official investigation into the attack.

The longer you wait to file a report, the harder it may be to recover compensation for your injuries successfully. This is because, in most cases, a dog bite claim will be defended by the animal owner's homeowner's insurance policy. If the insurance company finds out that you did not report the bite promptly, it may cause a few problems.

Most importantly, the insurance company could argue that you did not think your injuries were severe enough to file a report at the time of the attack. However, there are many reasons why someone may not report a dog bite right away. For example, they may not have known that they needed to. Regardless, it is crucial to file a dog bite report as quickly as possible.

You want to file a report soon after a dog bite because if you do not, the insurance company may argue that another bite caused your injuries. For example, an insurance company could claim that you were bit by your own dog and only then decided to file a report against the other dog's owner.

Finally, filing a timely dog bite report helps your attorney investigate the case. As time goes on, evidence may be harder to obtain. By immediately filing a dog bite report, you give your attorney the best chance to put together a strong case.

After suffering from a dog bite, the first thing you need to do is to report the attack. If the bite was serious, you should call 911; you can also report the attack to the local police department if you suffered less severe injuries.

When you file a dog bite report with law enforcement, they will investigate the incident. This may require the dog to undergo rabies testing and, in some cases, be put down. However, it is imperative to remember that reporting the accident to law enforcement will not initiate a personal injury claim against the owner. In other words, law enforcement officers investigate dog bites to protect the public from further attacks and to punish negligent dog owners. These investigations are not focused on getting dog bites victims compensation for their injuries.

If you have been bit by a dog, you may be entitled to monetary compensation from the dog owner through a personal injury claim. A personal injury claim is a separate legal case filed by you against the dog owner. Personal injury cases are independent of criminal and administrative investigations. So, even if law enforcement does not pursue an investigation against the dog owner or no charges are filed, you can still file a claim against the owner.

The best way to bring a dog bite lawsuit is to discuss your claim with a personal injury lawyer. Attorneys have detailed knowledge of local dog bite laws and can help you navigate what is often a complex process. They can also help explain what damages you may expect to receive if your claim is successful and help you overcome any roadblocks that arise along the way.

If the victim of a dog attack wants to pursue compensation, they must consider all of the injury-related damages. These include any medical expenses, previously mentioned emotional pain, any further suffering and lost wages.

There is no damage cap for personal injury claims, including dog bite injuries in the state of Illinois. It also does not matter whether or not the dog bite comes from a dangerous breed, such as a pit bull or Rottweiler. You may recover compensation for a bite from any breed.