It’s hard to think that a cute and cuddly dog could cause harm to anyone—but it happens.
So, what is the best way to handle a dog bite incident?
Be sure to find an attorney who is licensed in your town/state, because every state’s dog bite laws are different.
For now, let’s focus on Arizona.
In Arizona, a dog bite victim has one year (statute of limitations) to open a “strict liability” dog bite claim. This means, the dog’s owner is 100% liable if their dog bites another person.
If the victim does not open a claim or sue the dog’s owner within one year, the victim loses the ability to recover under “strict liability.”
After the first year, the victim must prove that the dog’s owner was negligent in order to recover (negligence argument during year two).
Therefore, although a dog bite victim may have two years to open a claim in Arizona, the ability to recover becomes more difficult after the first year, because the victim loses the “strict liability” argument and carries a tougher burden through the negligence standard.
If you’ve fallen victim to a dog in Arizona, your best option is to open a claim as soon as possible, and speak to a Phoenix personal injury attorney to discuss your options.
Most dog bite cases are often very difficult to win for a number of reasons. Here is why:
Dog bites should not be taken lightly. Most injuries are severe. When a dog bites an individual they likely bite more than once, and could attack again.
Based on our experience, about 50% of the time dog owners have adequate insurance coverage to compensate the victim.
However, if there is no insurance available, how do you get compensated? One answer is to sue the dog owner personally.
After a dog bite incident you should follow these simple tips:
If you’ve been bitten by a dog in Phoenix, give us a call to schedule your free consultation at 888-894-0135 or listen to our attorney, Doug Zanes’ talk-show episode on this topic.