Kaufman & Stigger, PLLC stands up for families that have suffered a dog bite or attack in Louisville. We know that while everyone in your family is vulnerable, none are more vulnerable to injuries and damage than your children. To learn more about your legal options in this situation, contact us today for a free consultation.
Should You Hire Our Lawyers?
Like any injury, you don’t have to hire a lawyer to represent you in a dog bite claim. But when your child is hurt, it makes the situation a bit different. There’s still no legal requirement that says you need a lawyer, and hopefully your child’s injuries are minor enough to not even need the legal process.
That said, one of the most common injuries your child will experience in these incidents involve their hands as they’re trying to defend themselves. Here’s how we can help in this situation:
- Investigating the accident – We’ll thoroughly examine what happened, gather important documents and evidence like photos, and get contact information from witnesses. We’ll also collect relevant medical records.
- Assisting with insurance – If you have the other party’s insurance details, we’ll help you submit a claim to their insurance company to start the process.
- Negotiating – After filing the claim and investigating, the other party’s insurance might offer a settlement. We’ll review it and negotiate for more if it’s not enough.
- Legal action – If a fair settlement isn’t possible, we may need to go to court to get the full extent of your child’s damages. We’ll guide you on the best steps, and if successful, you could receive financial support for your injuries.
Most of all, we want to give you and your family the support and guidance you need to get through this tough time. We offer free initial consultations and work on a contingency-fee basis, meaning there’s no upfront cost for you.
Hand Injuries in Child Dog Bites
When you stop to think about how often you and your child come across a dog in Louisville, it really puts the risk of being bitten into perspective. Even though most of these dogs are well-behaved and looked after by their owners, the fact is that a bite can happen at any time. Further, even if your child is used to being around dogs, they don’t always grasp the severity of the situation. So, when a bite happens, it’s often your child’s hand that’s one of the first targets. Here’s a few of the more common hand injuries that your child may face:
- Punctures – Dogs have sharp teeth, and their bites can cause puncture wounds that pose a risk of infection.
- Fractures or broken bones – A dog bite can lead to broken bones in your child’s palm or fingers, if the force is strong enough.
- Joint damage – Dog bites can harm the joints in the hand, causing pain and limiting mobility.
- Tendon injuries – Injuries to the tendons in the hand can affect movement and function.
- Crush injuries – In severe cases, dog bites can cause crush injuries, potentially damaging bones and tissues in the hand.
- Soft tissue injuries – Damage to soft tissues, such as muscles, tendons, and ligaments, is common in dog bites.
- Nerve injuries – Dog bites may result in nerve damage, causing symptoms like pain, numbness, or loss of sensation in the hand.
- Bruises – Blunt force from a dog bite can result in contusions and bruises on the hand.
- Deep cuts – Deep cuts or lacerations may occur from dog bites, often requiring medical attention and possibly surgery.
Liability
Regardless of whether your child’s hand or any other part of their body is injured, liability is an important part of the recovery process. In legal terms, liability sets the guidelines for who is responsible for paying for your child’s damages.
Under Kentucky law, it’s the dog owner who is liable. This is due to our state’s “strict liability” statute.
Legal Process After a Child Dog Bite
The legal process that you and your child can enter into after a dog bite is really not all that different from any other injury claim. The main difference is that you will be filing on behalf of your child. Everything else remains the same, and is mainly started by filing either:
- An insurance claim
- A personal injury lawsuit
Once the claim is filed, the goal is to recover financial support for your child’s “damages.” This differs in terms of the extent of their hand injuries, but usually revolves around the following:
- Medical expenses – This includes the costs of medical treatments, surgeries, medications, and any healthcare needs arising from your child’s hand injuries caused by the dog bite.
- Ongoing care needs – If the injuries require ongoing medical care like therapy or follow-up treatments, you can recover costs for these anticipated future expenses.
- Medical devices – Costs for necessary medical devices or aids related to your child’s hand injuries can also be recovered.
- Lost income – This covers any wages lost during the recovery period if the injuries prevent your child from going to school or if you need to take time off work. It can also cover any loss of your child’s future earning potential.
- Pain and suffering – This covers the physical pain, discomfort, and mental anguish experienced by your child due to the dog bite.
- Emotional distress – This category covers the emotional and psychological impact on your child, such as anxiety, fear, or PTSD resulting from the dog bite incident.
- Scarring and disfigurement – These damages are for both the physical and emotional effects of any visible scarring or disfigurement on your child’s hand.
- Loss of quality of life – This covers any negative impact of the dog bite on your child’s ability to enjoy activities, hobbies, and things they enjoyed doing prior to the dog bite.
As with any injury claim in Kentucky, there’s a statute of limitations by which you have to file your child’s dog bite claim–with one notable difference. There’s still a one-year statute of limitations, but it doesn’t go into effect until your child turns 18.
Strengthening Your Child’s Dog Bite Claim
Even though you have extra time to file your child’s claim, it’s still in their best interest to act quickly–but not so quickly that you can’t properly evaluate your child’s damages. Our team can help in that regard, using our experience and resources to gather important medical information and other losses for their claim. But there’s a few other things you need to do to make sure your child’s claim is as strong as possible:
- Get medical care right away to connect the dog bite and your child’s hand injuries
- Try to get all the information you can about the incident, including where and when it happened, the breed of dog, and the dog owner’s information
- Report the bite to Louisville Animal Control or police
- If there are any witnesses, get their contact information
- Track your child’s damages by keeping any medical bills, missed school, and other things
Louisville Dog Bite Lawyers Can Help Your Family
You never want to face a situation where your child gets bitten by a dog, but unfortunately, this is something that happens quite often. At Kaufman & Stigger, PLLC, our Louisville dog bite lawyers will be there to help your family through the legal process after your child suffers a hand injury or any other type of injury from a dog bite. To get the recovery process started, contact us today for a free, no-obligation consultation.
