What damages can you recover in a dog bite claim or lawsuit in California?
Successful dog bite claims or lawsuits can recover compensation for all of your losses. This includes obvious consequences from the dog bite, like medical bills bit it may also included losses that are less obvious, like emotional trauma from living with a permanent disfigurement.
The types of compensation you can recover include:
Medical bills, both past and future.
Lost wages, both past and future.
Any reduction to your ability to earn a living,
Physical pain, both past and future
Emotional or mental suffering and anguish,
Loss of consortium, and
Property damage.
Can I recover punitive damages in a dog bite lawsuit?
You may also be able to recover punitive damages in a dog bite lawsuit. Punitive damages are a sum of money to “punish” the defendant. Dog bite cases, like drunk driving cases, may support a claim for punitive damagess if the responsible party’s conduct is especially blame worthy. However, an award of punitive damages is still rare in most cases since the defendant’s conduct must have been exceptionally bad for the court to award them.
Are there damage caps that limit how much I can recover in a dog bite case?
There are no damage caps on dog bite lawsuits in California. The jury is free to award victims as much compensation and punitive damages as they think is necessary and the evidence supports.
What are factors that determine how much my case is worth?
While every dog bite case is unique, there are some important factors that will determine how much a case may be worth under California dog bite law. These are:
The age of the victim,
How bad the attack was and the medical attention needed,
Whether there were any long-term physical effects or injury from the attack,
If there will be permanent scarring, disfigurement or nerve damage.
Any prior attacks by this dog (viciousness) and lack of preventative measures taken by the owner.
When several of these factors are at play, the potential settlement can increase dramatically. Remember, an experienced dog bite lawyer can increase the value of you claim by fully investigation and presenting your case.
Does homeowners insurance cover dog bites?
Liability claims related to dog bites and other dog-related injuries cost homeowners insurers $854 million in in 2020, according to the Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I) and State Farm.
The number of dog bite claims nationwide fell in 2020 to 16,991 from 17,802 in 2019—a 4.6 percent decrease, according to an analysis of homeowners insurance claims data by the Triple-I.
The average cost per claim increased by 12.3 percent in 2020 to $50,425 from $44,760 in 2019. The average cost per claim nationally has risen 162 percent from 2003 to 2020, due to increased medical costs as well as the size of settlements, judgments and jury awards given to plaintiffs, which are trending upwards.
By state, California continues to have the largest number of claims in the United States, at 2,103 in 2020, down from 2,396 in 2019. The state with the second highest number of claims was Florida at 1,235. Nebraska had the highest average cost per claim at $71,243, followed by New York with an average cost of $66,817. The trend in higher costs per claim is attributable not only to dog bites but also to dogs knocking down children, cyclists, the elderly, etc., which can result in injuries that impact the potential severity of the losses.
Homeowners liability insurance usually covers dog bite claims. However, it is becoming more common that not all homeowner’s insurance policies will cover such claims. Each company has its own way of handling dogs. Sometimes the policy will limit the amount of coverage to an amount less than the full amount of the policy. Or many of them require you to opt in to dog bite coverage, often in the form of an insurance rider. This increases the insurance premium. Most homeowner’s insurance policies also have breed restrictions. Some companies require dog owners to sign liability waivers for dog bites, while others charge more for owners of breeds such as pit bulls and Rottweilers and others are not offering insurance to dog owners at all. Some will cover a pet if the owner takes the dog to classes aimed at modifying its behavior or if the dog is restrained with a muzzle, chain or cage.
The Insurance Company denies coverage or gave me a ‘low ball’ offer…
This often comes as a surprise to the people who seek the help of the California dog bite lawyers at Phillips Personal Injury. However, this should not come as a surprise if you keep the following in mind:
Insurance companies are for-profit corporations.
The more they pay out in settlements and claims, the lower their profit margins become.
Insurance companies employ highly-skilled insurance claims adjusters whose job is to protect their employers (the insurance company) from any liability and financial loss.
Insurance companies, given their resources, also have the ability to retain highly-skilled defense attorneys to fight hard from paying as little as possible.
In essence, these situations are not fair fights. A victim of a dog bite attack, who is in pain and facing mounting financial losses, is suddenly dealing with a team of insurance professionals and defense attorneys, all of whom are telling that person that his or her claim is not worth much and that their only options are to either accept their offer or face off with them in court. Thus, a very difficult situation quickly becomes much worse.
Does renter’s insurance cover dog bites?
Renter’s insurance is similar to homeowners insurance: It can cover dog bites, but renters often have to opt in to coverage. Also renter’s insurance frequently has lower coverage limits.
Dog bite lawsuits when the owner has no insurance.
You can file a dog bite lawsuit if the owner has no insurance. However, you will likely struggle to recover compensation for your damages even if the owner is held liable. If you suffered extensive injuries, the odds of recovering full compensation are poor. You can be left with very little recovery in a successful dog bite case, even though you proved that the dog owner was at fault.
In cases like these, an experienced dog bite lawyer can help. It is important to look for someone else to hold liable for your injuries. If someone else acted negligently and caused the dog bite, you may recover compensation from them.
Other potential responsible parties (Defendants)
“Dog Keeper” or “Caretaker” – What happens if, at the time of the attack, someone else is under the control of the dog? In this case, the caretaker or keeper can also be liable. Moreover, a caretaker or keeper may also be liable for a dog bite if they are negligent in controlling or handling the dog.
Residential Property Owners – To establish liability on the residential property owner you must show actual knowledge of the presence of a vicious dog. However, if a dog escapes from the property due to defects in property (i.e. a “hole-in-a-fence”), then the landlord could be held responsible for off-property injuries caused by the dog in an attack.
Landlords – In certain situations, landlords can be held liable for injuries in a dog attack.
Commercial Property Owners – In the case of commercial properties, the landlord has a stringent duty to inspect the premises in order to discover any dangerous conditions, including a vicious dog.
Other potential defendants based on the facts – There may be other potential defendants in a dog attack case, such as homeowner associations (HOAs) or child day care centers, depending upon the particular facts of the case.
If a dog owner is unable to fully compensate the victim, identifying all of the potentially responsible parties is critical to a successful claim for damages. Hiring an experienced California dog bite lawyer is an important step to fully investigating the facts surrounding the bite to determining all parties who may be responsible for your injuries to fully compensated from all available sources.
Experienced and Trusted Dog Bite Lawyers
Phillips Personal Injury is an experienced dog bite law firm serving you locally in California. If you’ve been bitten or attacked by a dog, we would be happy to speak with you about your case and discuss your legal options. We will help you get medical treatment and receive compensation for your injuries.
There are no fees unless we win. We’re in this together.
“Do I owe any money if my case doesn’t recover anything?” Absolutely not. If you hire Phillips Personal Injury and we don’t recover money for you on your case, you owe us absolutely nothing. When you retain us, we operate on a contingency fee. What that means is for our legal work, we get a percentage of the recovery that we get for you. If there is no recovery, then there is no fee owed and you owe us nothing.
Serving All of Northern California Including the Following Counties.
Alpine County, Amador County, Butte County, Calaveras County, Colusa County, Contra Costa County, El Dorado County, Fresno County, Glenn County, Lassen County, Madera County, Merced County, Modoc County, Nevada County, Placer County, Plumas County, Sacramento County, San Joaquin County, Shasta County, Sierra County, Siskiyou County, Solano County, Stanislaus County, Sutter County, Tehama County, Yolo County, Yuba County