Most people, when thinking about their favorite pooch, don’t expect that dog to act out against them. Unfortunately, dogs who are aggravated, mischievous, or distressed can bite seemingly without reason. Even if you have empathy for the dog who bit you – and there is no requirement stating that you must be – you can hold a dog’s owner accountable for this misbehavior.
Specifically, laws in Arizona allow victims of dog bite accidents to take action against the dog’s owner to recover damages based on the severity of their losses. You can collaborate with a dog bite attorney in Tempe to demand support from a liable party. Zanes Law will collaborate with you to bring your case before a civil judge.
Dog Owners Are Responsible for Their Dogs’ Behavior
Arizona Revised Statutes §11-1025 outlines the information that dog bite victims are required to bring forward if they want to pursue legal action after their accident. Specifically, dog bite victims in Arizona are required to prove that they did not antagonize the dog in question at the time their accident occurred.
Similarly, victims must indicate that they were abiding by the law and otherwise behaving peacefully at the time of an accident. Finally, dog bite victims are required to indicate that the injuries they suffered – be they physical, financial, or emotional in nature – specifically resulted from a dog’s poor behavior.
There Are No Second Chances for Dog Bite Owners in Arizona
There are some states that allow dog owners some flexibility in liability after a dog bite accident. These states specifically state that if a dog owner was unaware of their dog’s uneven temperament, that owner may not be responsible for the first incident of violence that the dog exhibits.
This is not the case in Arizona. Arizona does not allow dog owners leeway and allows victims to hold all dog owners accountable for a dog bite regardless of whether or not the owner in question knew about the dog’s mischievous or violent tendencies.
As such, the dog bite victim in question does not need to present evidence that an owner was unaware of a dog’s temperament at the time an accident occurred. Rather, the evidence that a dog bite victim does bring forward should only outline the value of their case and the nature of the duty of care that a dog and dog owner violated.
For a free legal consultation with a dog bite lawyer serving Tempe, call 866-499-8989
Bringing Forward Evidence of Dog Owner Negligence
As noted, you are required to bring forward evidence of a dog owner’s negligence and that negligence’s impact on your daily life if you want to pursue a dog bite accident claim. Evidence can include video footage of the dog by accident as well as a third party’s statement addressing the severity of your injuries.
It’s not your job to gather all of this data, however. Rather, that responsibility falls to our team. We can corral bystanders, communicate with expert witnesses, and use the data available from the scene of your accident to tell the story of your dog bite losses.
You can then use this evidence to prove that you behaved appropriately around the offending dog and that your resulting case has a concrete dollar value.
Estimating the Value of a Dog Bite Case
The value of your dog bite case is based on the economic and non-economic impact of your injuries. Specifically, our dog bite lawyers in Tempe assess the ways in which a dog bite injury has transformed your life and translate that impact into an actionable dollar value.
More specifically, we look at the bills generated in your attempt to recover from a dog bite accident and categorize those as your economic dog-bite losses. These bills can address your essential medical attention, replacement of damaged property, and lost wages in the workplace.
From there, we modify the sum of your dog bite economic losses by multipliers that stand in for losses like emotional distress or stress. These multipliers represent your dog bite non-economic losses or losses that don’t generate traditional bills. The final value resulting from our calculations represents the total possible value of your case.
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Working with a Dog Bite Attorney Can Reduce Your Stress Levels
It can be stressful to recover from a dog bite injury without assistance. While you are busy scheduling doctor’s appointments and ensuring that you have the appropriate shots to preserve your overall health, a dog bite attorney can take on the legal elements of your recovery.
Specifically, dog bite attorneys can communicate with viable parties on your behalf and gather evidence of your losses to present to a judge. We can compose a civil claim while you are undergoing physical therapy or otherwise returning to work.
What’s more, we can make sure that your complaint reaches the desk of a county clerk within the Arizona statute of limitations. This statute, as outlined by Arizona Revised Statutes §12-542, limits your actionable time to two years. Fail to get your complaint in within this time period, and you may lose your right to loss-based compensation.
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Dog Bite Laws Apply to a Myriad of Animal-Related Injuries
Arizona’s dog bite laws don’t solely apply to dog bite accidents. If you are scratched, tackled, or otherwise injured by any manner of domesticated animal, and you believe an owner’s negligence may be to blame, you can look to Arizona’s dog bite laws for legal guidance.
Similarly, you can file for compensation based on your losses under Arizona’s understanding of personal injuries. You can meet with a Tempe dog bite lawyer to discuss your rights to a civil case.
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Our Dog Bite Lawyers Will Defend You
You never want to imagine that a dog would do you harm. Unfortunately, dogs who are naturally mischievous, aggressive, or who feel threatened can bite unprovoked. Should you come away from an interaction with one of these pups with a severe injury, you can work with a Tempe dog bite attorney to hold the dog’s owner responsible for your losses.
You can collaborate with the team at Zanes Law to bring a complaint against the offending dog owner. We can break down the legislation that enables your case in Arizona and give you the tools to demand compensation. Contact our team through our website or by calling our office to schedule a free case consultation today.
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