San Diego Dog Bite Attorney

If you or your child has been bitten by a dog, hiring legal counsel is something to seriously consider. Dog bites are not always a minor matter, in San Diego or anywhere else. Your dog bite attorney should be someone who understands the depth of trauma that can accompany this experience.

• While dog bites seem to be minor dangers and usually, minor injuries to most of us they can be something very different to certain victims. And there is no shortage of victims; according to dated statistics from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) dog bites occurred 4.7 million times in 1994; of those over 800,000 required medical treatment. Fifteen years later, the number of dog bites requiring medical care probably exceeds one million.
• Dog bites can quickly change from a brief, frightening encounter into an extended and serious trauma. Dog bite victims that require medical care are most frequently children, and the most common age group is 5-9. Half of those victims are bitten in the face or neck area. Facial injuries may require surgical repair for the trauma, and then later surgical treatment to minimize scar tissue. A dog bite can be a serious and extended medical problem.
• There can also be an acute psychological component to the pain and suffering associated with a dog bite. How often have you met someone who is terrified of dogs in general because of a traumatic childhood experience? An encounter with a vicious dog can leave permanent mental scars along with the physical damage.

These facts dispel the notion that dog bites are usually minor matters. Many people also dismiss dog bites because the animal involved belongs to a friend or to the household of a child’s friend. If a bite is serious enough to require medical attention, it is probably serious enough to warrant a discussion with a dog bite attorney. For cases of this nature it also makes sense to hire a San Diego dog bite attorney so that the process of investigation and medical inquiries can be conducted by local professionals.

Costs associated with a dog bite are often absorbed by homeowners’ insurance. So seeking compensation from a dog owner you know isn’t a demand for personal compensation, it’s a request for insurance reimbursement that is built into normal household coverage. A dog bite attorney can keep that particular issue on a professional level by removing you from all negotiations with the insurance carrier.

If a lawsuit for pain and suffering seems to be in order, your dog bite attorney can maximize your compensation by putting the injury and the resulting trauma into context. A quality dog bite lawyer can make it clear to an insurance carrier or to a court just how serious and long lasting the mental and physical damages from a dog bite can be. The Law Offices of Anna R. Yum can provide you with that attorney.