You can call 888-377-8900 to contact the Pritzker Hageman dog bite legal team or Contact Us Online.
Our legal team handles cases all over the United States and has decades of experience obtaining significant dog bite settlements for our clients.
I’ve been attacked by a dog. What should I do?
If you, your child, or someone in your family has been attacked, you should call the police and seek medical treatment immediately. Even small bites can cause very, very serious infections. The police (or animal control) will document the attack and confirm that the animal has been properly vaccinated and/or quarantined. You should also document everything that happens. Take a variety of pictures of the wound with a high quality camera. Continue to carefully document the wound over time. We always encourage people to retain an experienced dog bite attorney early in the process to help deal with the investigation, the dog owners, and their insurance company.
Have you ever had a client with a severe infection caused by a dog bite?
Over the years, our team has handled hundreds of dog bite cases and thankfully only a few have had severe infections. A young man our lawyers represented was a contractor working in a woman’s house. As he knelt down to adjust a furnace valve, the home owner’s small terrier nipped him right between the thumb and index finger. The bite caused only a little blood from two small but deep puncture wounds. The guy did not think anything of it and did not want to go to the doctor because he did not have health insurance. About three days later, a severe infection developed, he became delirious, and was lucky to make it to the hospital. He nearly lost his hand. The lesson here is simple: if you are bitten, go to the doctor.
How do I choose the best attorney for my case?
There are a lot of good lawyers but, like any professional, you need to find someone who is a good fit for your case. Lawyers have areas of the law they focus on just as doctors have a specialty. You want a lawyer who does mainly or exclusively personal injury work and has a track record of success in dog attack cases.
Almost as important, you need to trust your lawyer and the lawyer has to respect you. If we do not believe that we can help, we don’t take the case. Be careful of the lawyer who is desperate to take any case or makes outlandish promises.
We try to have potential clients talk to some of our prior clients. Hearing about what we can do from them is often more powerful than anything we could say.
One last point: some lawyers have only handled cases where the injury is a dog bite. Often, there are other injuries. For example, lawyers on our team extensively litigated a case where one dog was playing with another and bumped into our client. She suffered a significant hip dislocation and ultimately needed a hip replacement. The owner’s insurance company refused to accept responsibility because the animal did not “attack” my client. We successfully brought a motion to the judge which forced the insurance company to resolve the case.
What can you do for someone who is attacked?
Because of our experience with dog cases, we know how to maximize recovery at each stage of the process. We typically launch an exhaustive investigation of the dog’s history and the animal’s owners. We establish an insurance claim with the owner’s insurance company. We document the injury carefully and make sure our clients get the medical treatment they need. At the end of the case, we use our knowledge of how insurance companies and juries look at scarring to maximize value. In short, we guide our clients to the best possible outcomes.
What is a typical case like?
No two cases are the same but most of the cases we’ve handled involve children. For example, a recent case our lawyers worked on involved a small child attacked by a German shepherd. The case was particularly distressing because the child was attacked while walking with his father on a sidewalk, two doors down from their house. The animal bit the child in the face and left a bad scar; but the psychological impact on the boy was just as painful. He was scared to leave his house for a time and insisted on covering his face for pictures. One thing we learned from that case was not to underestimate the psychological impact these attacks can have on kids.
Were You or a Loved One Attacked By a Dog?
Serious Dog Bite Cases Our Legal Team Is Following
Colorado Dog Bite Attack Kills Grandmother, Injures Grandson
September 14, 2022 – An 89-year-old grandmother died and her 12-year-old grandson was injured in a violent dog bite attack in Golden, CO. Police responded to the house on 15712 West First Drive after receiving a call about an animal bite. When officers arrived, they found a trail of blood leading from the backyard to a neighbor’s house, where the boy had run for help. Officers tried to rescue the woman from two pit bulls who were attacking her by using themselves as human shields. When they were unable to separate the dogs from the victim, they used a taser and a less lethal shotgun to stop the attack. The woman was taken to St. Anthony Hospital in Lakewood where sadly, she later died. The boy was airlifted to Children’s Hospital. Both dogs have been euthanized. Police say the dogs “belong at the residence” where the attack took place but the incident is still under investigation.