What am I entitled to if I am bitten by a dog?
If you are bitten by a dog and the dog owner is liable under Oregon law or the law of a city or county, you are entitled to recovery of your medical bills, along with non-economic damages, which includes pain and suffering. If you lose work as a result of the bite, you may be entitled to a wage loss claim or possibly a lost earning capacity claim or substitute domestic services. If any of your property damaged as a result of a dog bite, you may be entitled to recover your property damage. Occasionally, you may even be entitled to punitive damages, which are meant to punish.
Collections: In order to collect, hopefully, you were bitten by a dog whose owner has assets, such as a home. Many homeowners have insurance policies that cover dog bites. If a homeless person’s Pit Bull attacked you, it is unlikely that you will be able to collect, even if you win. A tent and a dirty sleeping bag under a bridge is not going to compensate you for your injuries. However, some counties have a victim’s assistance fund, which can help with your out-of-pocket medical bills, if the district attorney’s office accepts your case for criminal prosecution.
What is my claim worth? Each case is individually evaluated. I use the following factors and possibly other factors to determine the value of your case:
- Severity of the bite
- Location of the bite
- Permanency of the bite
- Whether scar revision is possible
- Amount of past medical bills
- Amount of any identifiable future medical bills
- Past lost wages and any future wage loss
- The inability to perform any activities due to the bite
- Amount of recovery time
- The likelihood of collecting, even if we win.
- The difficulty of collecting, even if we win.
- The degree to which each party is at fault