Being bitten by a dog can be a very traumatic experience for someone, especially if they were seriously injured and ended up taking a trip to the emergency room. When this happens to a victim, they need to be sure they contact a Phoenix dog bite lawyer to get the help they need to pay for medical bills, pain and suffering, trauma, and anything else they suffered from as a result of the attack. There are laws that people should be following in order to keep their dogs from getting out and attacking people; when someone doesn’t follow them, they can be held liable for the damages that their pet caused to another person. A reliable dog bite attorney will be able to evaluate someone’s case and provide them with the legal representation they need to get compensation from the at-fault party. However, there are some things a victim should do to ensure they are going to have the best chance of obtaining a large winning their case in court.
Taking Pictures of Everything
One of the most important things a dog bite victim can do is take photos of everything that revolves around their case. A victim needs to take pictures of the injuries they sustained, especially while they are fresh, to show a judge just how serious the attack was. These images can help a victim elaborate on how traumatic the experience was to endure, which is going to be beneficial to them if they are seeking compensation for pain and suffering. It will also help to explain the situation if the medical bills are abnormally high. If someone needed to have reconstructive surgery, stitches, therapy and counseling, and had to go through rehab, they are going to have to explain why they are seeking so much money to a judge. The images of the fresh injury will help to explain why they are seeking a certain amount of money from the at-fault party.
A victim also needs to be sure they get pictures of the yard where the dog escaped from. If an owner did not properly seal their yard and the dog escaped through an obvious hole in the fence, this information is going to be useful to an attorney and to a judge. A reliable attorney will argue that the dog’s owner should have known their pet could escape due to the hole in the fence which allowed the dog to get out and attack the victim. If the victim is incapacitated from the attack, a family member or friend can go by the home where the dog escaped from and take pictures of the yard, hopefully before the dog’s owner gets a chance to patch up the hole.
Retaining Proof of Medical Treatments
Another important thing that’s going to help a Phoenix dog bite lawyer win their victim’s case is if they keep track of all their medical documentation related to the attack. The medical bills are going to be important, but so will the paperwork stating what treatments a victim had to go through. It’s important for an attorney to know if their client had to undergo treatment for rabies, if they had to get stitches, if they had to be admitted to the hospital and take time off of work, and other things like this. Keeping track of the paperwork from the hospital will help a lawyer to build the best possible case for the dog bite victim.
A victim also needs to keep any records of counseling services they received after the incident. Some people are traumatized by a dog attack and need to speak with a therapist about what happened in order to come to terms with the incident. Someone who was seriously hurt may not be able to be around any dogs after the incident without feeling extreme anxiety. The bills for the cost of therapy are another thing that an attorney will address in the courtroom. This will also help to build a case for pain and suffering or mental trauma compensation that a victim is seeking.
Also, the medical documentation will state if a victim had to take time off of work or not. This is crucial because a victim can be compensated by the at-fault party if they had to take a few days off of work and miss out on making money that they need to live their normal lifestyle.
The Importance of Hiring a Trustworthy Phoenix Dog Bite Lawyer
While a victim needs to be sure they are doing these things to help win their case, there are also a few things the lawyer will be doing. A reliable lawyer will investigate the dog and its owner to find out if they have been involved in any previous incidents. Knowing whether or not a person has already been to court over their dog attacking someone can seriously help the outcome of a current victim’s case.
A lawyer can also interview neighbors and witnesses to get statements from them to help their client. If several neighbors saw the incident, this can seriously help a victim’s case when being presented to a judge. Having several sworn statements will help a judge see that the victim is not lying about what actually happened on the day of the attack.
There’s no need to stress about expensive medical bills if a victim did nothing wrong and was simply attacked by a dog due to another person’s negligence. A lawyer will be able to get the compensation they deserve by building the best case possible. If a victim is apprehensive about speaking with an attorney regarding their case, they need to be aware that most law firms offer a free or low cost consultation to find out what services they will be able to provide. In most situations, a lawyer will accept someone’s case without asking for any money up front.
