Unleashing the Truth: Understanding Dog Bite Lawsuit Settlement Amounts

Dogs not only make great best friends but are also excellent companions. If, however, you or someone you care about is injured by a dog bite, the losses you suffer can be significant – and difficult to overcome. Obtaining fair compensation is critical to your overall recovery, but dog bite claims are challenging, which makes having an experienced New Jersey dog bite liability lawyer in your corner to your advantage. 

How Do You Negotiate a Dog Bite Settlement?

Dog bite lawsuit settlements are generally negotiated with the dog owner’s homeowners or renters insurance provider. It is important to note that – even though the involved insurance company is paid to cover your related physical, financial, and emotional losses – it is prepared to do what it can to keep its profits high, which includes keeping your settlement low. 

Common Tactics for Keeping Settlements Low

The following are common tactics that insurance companies turn to in order to help them keep dog bite settlements low:

• Offering you an early settlement that does not take your complete physical, financial, and emotional losses into careful consideration
• Denying your claim early in the process – hoping it will cause you to give up
• Denying the extent of your complete losses
• Attempting to shift fault toward you by implying you provoked the animal
• Artificially extending or complicating the claims process

You’ll look to your dedicated dog bite liability lawyer to ably handle negotiations with the involved insurance company.

The Negotiation Process

The negotiation process involves your trusted dog bite liability lawyer carefully assessing your total losses and skillfully pursuing just compensation. This generally means going back and forth with the insurance company until a mutually acceptable settlement is reached. If, however, the insurance company refuses to make an offer that addresses your legal damages in their entirety, you’ll likely move forward by filing a lawsuit against them. From here, your focused lawyer will prepare to take your case to court – but the potential for settling remains on the table. In fact, by filing a lawsuit, you may inspire the insurance company to engage in more robust negotiations.   

What Is the Average Payout for a Dog Bite Claim?

One of the most important points to keep in mind when it comes to your dog bite claim is that it will not follow exactly the same path as any other claim and that its resolution will be similarly unique. Every dog bite claim covers specific categories of loss that need to be carefully explored in relation to an adequate settlement payout. 

Medical Expenses

Dog bites – according to the Mayo Clinic – are susceptible to serious infections, and the New Jersey Department of Health advises anyone who has suffered a dog bite to seek immediate medical care. In fact, dog bites are especially dangerous for all the following medical reasons:

• Dog bites rip and tear more than cut, which makes them slow to heal and more susceptible to serious scarring. 
• A bite that is near the face – or on it – can prove permanently disfiguring.
• A bite that affects one’s hand can lead to long-term complications related to the hand’s intricate mechanics.

This category of loss needs to factor in current and ongoing expenses as well as those related to secondary health concerns. 

Lost Wages

A serious dog bite can keep you off the job for a considerable amount of time and could interfere with your ability to do your job moving forward. If you face lost earning potential, the damages you suffer will be that much more profound. Career-related losses can have emotional as well as financial consequences. 

Physical and Emotional Pain and Suffering

There is no denying that dog bites are physically painful injuries, but the extent of your emotional suffering can be difficult to overstate. Being attacked by someone else’s dog is a terrifying experience that can lead to considerable psychological effects. 

How We Handle Your Dog Bite Claim

At the New Jersey Dog Bite Lawyer, we recognize the complexity and significance of your claim, and we’re committed to skillfully advocating for a resolution that supports your most complete recovery. In the process, we capably take on all the following primary tasks:

• Gathering and carefully compiling the available evidence
• Building your strongest claim – reflecting your full range of losses
• Skillfully negotiating for a fair settlement
• Being well prepared to file a lawsuit against the insurance company and to fight for your rights in court
• Helping you better understand the legal process and helping you make the right decisions for you along the way

A Note about New Jersey Dog Bite Laws

Some states have what is called a onebite rule that minimizes liability on the dog owner’s part when they’re not aware of their pet’s propensity to bite. Once a dog bites someone, however, the dog owner can be held legally liable. New Jersey, on the other hand, takes a strict liability stance, which means that dog owners bear the following primary responsibilities from the start:

• Maintaining safe control of their dogs in public
• Protecting others from bites – even when that means a first bite

The only exceptions to New Jersey’s strict liability for dog bites include:

• The person bit by the dog was on the dog owner’s property illegally.
• The person bit by the dog was provoking it at the time. 

An Experienced New Jersey Dog Bite Liability Lawyer Is on Your Side

If you have been injured by the bite of someone else’s dog, regaining your health and well-being is paramount. You should focus on your medical treatment and healing while an experienced attorney handles your financial recovery. 

David J. Cowhey at the New Jersey Dog Bite Lawyer is an accomplished dog bite liability lawyer who recognizes the gravity of your predicament and is committed to zealously pursuing an advantageous outcome that honors your rights and best interests. We are on your side and here to help, so please reach out to us through our online form or call us at (866) 259-4377 today.