Alabama is a dog-friendly state. Not all of those dogs are friendly, however, and Birmingham in particular records a high annual number of dog bite attacks.
Injured bite victims should contact Massey Injury Law to consult with a Birmingham dog bite lawyer about recovering compensation for injuries and financial losses associated with the bite. Contacting an experienced personal injury attorney promptly after a dog attack is critical, even if you know the owner or your injuries appear to be insignificant. We can analyze how and why the attack happened and evaluate your rights and opportunity to get reimbursement for your financial losses, property damage, and pain and suffering. Our friend of the firm rate ensures you keep more for your medical bills and losses.
If a dog bite causes scratches, skin tears, or any kind of bleeding, you should seek immediate medical care regardless of whether the dog has all of its shots. Dog bites can cause deep wounds that are easily infected, and medical treatment can prevent complications. You or your insurer will be responsible for paying the costs of that medical care, and a dog bite attorney in Birmingham can pursue reimbursement of those costs on your behalf.
Your lawyer can also negotiate with liability insurers to reimburse your other economic losses, such as unearned salary while you recuperate from wounds and therapy expenses that you might incur to help you heal. Last, your attorney can fight for non-economic damages like compensation for your pain and suffering and the psychological trauma you experienced from the attack.
If you try to pursue compensation without legal help, insurance company adjusters will try to pin responsibility for the attack on you, for example, by arguing that you goaded the dog into attacking you. Under Alabama’s strict comparative negligence standards, you will lose your right to recover damages if you were even slightly at fault. Our experienced lawyer will fight to protect you from that outcome.
In most dog bite injury cases, the dog’s owner or handler will be primarily responsible for paying for your harm and losses. A knowledgeable Birmingham lawyer will also evaluate the potential liability of property owners or landlords who let the dog onto their premises, particularly if the dog has a known propensity to initiate attacks.
Alabama Code § 3-1-6 imposes liability for dog bite injuries on an owner when, without being provoked, a dog attacks someone who is legally allowed to be on the owner’s property. If the dog has no prior history of attacks, the owner may not be automatically liable. In this case, your dog bite attorney in Birmingham will use the facts of the case to show that the owner was negligent, notwithstanding the dog’s prior clean history.
Call Massey Injury Law for a complimentary, no-obligation consultation with a Birmingham dog bite lawyer. We will review the facts of the attack and assess the compensation that you may be able to recover from all parties who may be liable for your injuries.
Under Alabama Code § 6-2-38, you only have two years from the date of your accident to file a dog bite personal injury lawsuit. Contact us well before the expiration of that period to enable us to secure the evidence of the attack and your injuries and to give you the best opportunity to recover the compensation you deserve. For a friend of the firm experience and rate, remember: Massey is my lawyer friend.
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