If you’re pursuing a legal case in New Jersey, it can be helpful to understand the legal terms you may hear or come across as your injury case progresses. In a dog bite claim, an injured party is trying to recover from a dog attack and to recuperate losses due to that injury. In a successful case, the injured party secures compensatory damages to cover those losses through a personal injury claim.
Compensatory damages fall under two categories – economic and non-economic.
These damages are meant to cover financial losses that can be quantified. Tangible losses can be calculated using documents and bills to show evidence of the costs involved.
Examples of economic damages include:
Projected costs can also form part of your claim. Using your current medical needs, medical professionals and your personal injury attorney will forecast what future medical costs may be.
More difficult to calculate, non-economic damages involve intangible losses to the injured party. These damages cover losses suffered by the victim such as pain and emotional distress and are not financial in nature.
Examples of non-economic damages include:
With no hard evidence of costs, awarding non-economic damages can be very subjective. It can be difficult to calculate what is appropriate and assign a monetary value.
When filing a claim for non-economic damages, it’s important to provide evidence to prove your case. Insurance companies will frequently undervalue non-economic losses. It’s important to have an experienced dog bite attorney that understands the motives of insurance company lawyers.
The more evidence you can present, the higher your financial recovery will likely be.
A medical professional can provide a medical assessment and opinion on mental injuries suffered. Medical records can also serve as evidence in the case. The injured person can also testify. Those closest to the injured person can discuss the impact your injuries have had on you.
In wrongful death cases, family members can testify about their relationship with the deceased person.
As it is difficult to value non-economic losses, it is best to discuss this with your dog bite attorney. An experienced dog attack lawyer will be able to best advise you on preparing this aspect of your dog bite claim.
There are typically two methods used to calculate non-economic damages. The multiplier method and a daily rate.
The multiplier method takes into account past, present, and future medical expenses and multiplies them by a number. The number is usually between 1.5-5. How severe a victim’s injuries are is a common basis for determining the multiplier number.
The per diem or daily rate method is straightforward to calculate. Using a fair “daily rate” for living with the injuries and then multiplying by the number of days you spend living with the injuries from your attack. Although the calculation is simple, determining the daily rate can be a difficult task. Often the calculation uses the injured party’s actual daily earnings. The basis for this is that recovering from injuries is at least as emotionally difficult as going to work.
Total Economic and non-economic damages together are the total of the compensatory damages for the claim.
A dog bite attorney will work with you to design the best case to recover compensatory damages for your dog bite injury. If you were injured in a dog attack, you have a right to receive compensation for your injuries.
Determining compensation amounts is on a case-by-case basis as every case is unique. Working with an experienced dog bite lawyer will help you to build your best possible case. A dog bite attorney works on your behalf to fight for the best compensation award for your dog bite case.
If you’ve suffered injuries in a dog attack, contact David J. Cowhey to review your case. He offers free consultations to dog bite victims. As an experienced dog bite lawyer, he will be able to provide you with an honest and informed assessment.
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Dave was awesome helping me through the nightmare world of insurance claims after my daughter was attacked by a neighbors dog. Dave is very friendly, always available and extremally knowledgeable and connected to this process. I highly recommend you call him about your case,
David Cowhey, Esq. did a great job for my daughter, who had been bit by a dog and left with a scar on her leg. He is an extremely competent and responsive attorney. The whole process was very easy and he negotiated a great settlement! We are very happy. Highly recommend his professional services!!
My experience with David Cowhey was amazing, he is a very knowledgeable and helpful lawyer. I got bit by a dog and it left a very noticeable scar on my leg and David was great to have on my side. He’s very easy to work with, would definitely recommend if you’re going through the same thing!
Dave is so professional. My daughter was 6 when she was attacked by a friend of the family dog. I contacted Dave’s office and spoke with his secretary. She was so friendly and asked questions that made me feel comfortable. I was amazed by how fast the service was and everything was easy to understand. Dave made sure my daughter was compensated for her injuries and along with pain & suffering. There couldn’t be a more perfect choice but that’s because God helped me choose this great lawyer! He did an excellent job!!! She is 7 now and We are now able to move on better because of the help of Dave. Pick this lawyer!! I PROMISE YOU WONT REGRET ANYTHING AT ALL‼️ Thank you Dave!
My entire experience with Dave and his team was 5 stars. They specialize in one thing, and this experience taught me why you want an attorney who specializes. Dave's knowledge, experience, and confidence is what made things go smoothly and quickly. Professional and quick responses always. If someone was bitten by a dog I recommend this guy, he will get you what you deserve.
My wife got bit by a dog last spring; she immediately received medical care and we made a police report- all within 2 hours. Shortly thereafter, we decided to choose Attorney David to represent her. He walked us through the process. It is much more comfortable knowing that his practice only involves dog bites. He knows his stuff! We have just received notice that a fair settlement has been reached. If you have been bitten by a dog, my wife and I would highly recommend David Cowhey for an attorney. Thank you to David and his professional staff!
My 8 year old son was bitten by a neighborhood dog, leaving permanent scars on his abdomen. I immediately contacted David Cowhey. He explained the process very clearly and made it very easy for us to come to a fair settlement for my son. He was a perfect advocate for us, and he is very compassionate for the victim. We are very pleased with the hard work David has done for our son.
Lawyer Dave Cowhey (& his office) helped my wife, son and me immensely over the past 15 months. He is tremendously professional, responsive and proactive, as well as being, a great attorney. Thanks to Dave, we are now able to put our 'incident' behind us. I highly recommend his services - he will work hard and long for you to get you the settlement you deserve.
My experience with Dave and his law firm was wonderful. While I was nervous to start the process of something that I knew nothing about, he was extremely helpful and explained everything clearly and concisely. He answered all of my questions - day or night, weekday or weekend, and made sure I was comfortable at each step. I would highly recommend Dave and his firm!
I absolutely loved my entire time of working with with Dave. He always kept my best interest in mind and made sure that I was taking care of. He was amazing at communicating all steps in the process with me, and never hesitated to answer any of my questions. Would highly recommend!
Dave was extremely responsive and guided me thru the process with compassion. His specialization in dog bites really helped facilitate the process. He knows all the insurance issues and, despite the backlog of cases due to Covid, was able to settle my claim for more than we anticipated as well as earlier. I would definitely recommend Dave as I felt comfortable that I was getting the best advice every step of the way!
Dave did extremely well by me and my family. He was nothing short of professional and assisted us through the entire process. I called him the day of the dog bite, and I followed his instructions to the "T". Him, and his staff, were knowledgeable on every step of the process. From medical advise, to advise on setting up our structured settlement for our child. If you need help right away, don't wait.... call him asap!!!
Dave was amazing, he handled my case with care , answered every question , email and helped me to understand the steps we needed to take. I had never dealt with a lawsuit before so of course I was nervous and thought I was going to get ripped off but nope. He was very professional and attentive. Hope I never need him again but should I ever need a lawyer for a dog bite i'm calling him first!
Dave Cowhey was amazing during our case which was very personal in the sense that involved family members. He was candid and professional and always gave us his honest opinion to all our questions and concerns. He's a family man and understands how upsetting the situations are at hand. I wish he was a lawyer for everything honestly, he was fantastic! Highly recommended Dave and his team.
My one year old dog and I were viciously attacked by a pit bull. I didn’t want to file a law suit initially until I realized the severity of the injuries both mentally and physically. Most lawyers are all about the money not for the justice and compassion of the victim. I am blessed to have found David. He was our hero who understood our situation was efficient knowledgeable and above all sincerely compassionate
Dave was hands on and always available. Steered me through the entire process and helped cover my medical costs and compensation for my scar and injury. Went over and Beyond and made me feel at ease and confident in a positive outcome. Would recommend to all.
Honest, fast, responsive and professional. Great experience working with Mr. Cowhey and I highly recommend to handle any dog bite case.
We contacted Dave when our 5 year old son was attacked by our neighbor's dog, resulting in deep wounds (and now scars) on his face and arm. Dave was extremely knowledgeable/helpful from the start, explaining how everything would work, and he was always available via phone/text if we had questions come up throughout the process. He always gave us all of the options/routes we could take and let us decide what was the best move for our family. He advocated for the best outcome for our son and always kept us in the loop. We were able to settle in a friendly hearing with the homeowner-insurance company, which was simple and straightforward, thanks to all of Dave's hard work behind-the-scenes. We definitely could not have navigated this process ourselves and we are very thankful for the help of Dave and his team!
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