Personal Injury Dog Bite Injury Attorney in Brandon

A dog’s teeth can rip human flesh just as easily as it eats a steak for dinner. When a dog bites someone, it can do severe mental and physical damage. Sometimes plastic surgery, skin grafts, and physical therapy are needed for a victim to regain the use of their limbs or the appearance of their face. As a pet owner, you should always keep your pet on a leash or keep it contained in your house or yard. As a victim, you need to call an attorney to help you get the compensation you need to pay your medical bills.

Under Florida law, a dog’s owner can be liable if their dog bites someone who is legally on their property or if their dog bites someone in public. Regardless of the intent, owners of dogs are under strict liability in Florida and are accountable for their dog’s actions. In some cases, the dog can be declared “dangerous.” If this is the case, the law has outlined certain requirements that the owner must follow. It must be registered as a dangerous dog with authorities and must be identified with warning signs at all entrances to its home. If the dog owner wishes to transport the dog outside of its home, the dog must wear a muzzle and harness at all times and be in the care of a person above the age of 18. If a declared “dangerous” dog attacks and kills someone, it could result in a charge of homicide.

Now that you have some basic understanding of Florida’s dog bite law, here are a few cases of dog bites where legal action should be pursued:

• The owner was negligent in providing care that a prudent person would typically give.
• “One Bite Rule” – if the dog has a history of biting or attempting to bite it could result in a recovery of damages.
• If the dog attack was an intentional act of the owner.

Exceptions?

Sometimes if a dog bites a child, negligence can be found on the part of the dog owner and that of the parent. In these cases, a shared responsibility for the damages can occur.

Also, if an easily readable sign with “bad dog” or “beware of dog” is displayed, it can waive liability of the owner. This is only true if the person bit is over the age of 6, and if the dog bite occurs on the dog owner’s property.

Get Legal Representation

You will need to tell the dog bite attorney everything that happened immediately before, during and after the attack. Without a very detailed account of the attack, it will be very hard to establish if negligence played a role in the incident.

If you have been the victim of a dog bite, we invite you to contact The Curry Law Group. We service the entire Tampa Bay Area and would like the chance to represent you. You can fill out the form on this page or reach us at our office.