North Carolina Dog Bit Victim Lawyer
Every year, approximately 4.7 million people suffer dog bites in the United States—and 800,000 of them require medical treatment. If you’ve been victimized and left with physical and emotional scars, you may be entitled to monetary compensation.
Dog bite law can be somewhat confusing since it is a combination of city, county, and state law. All states without exception hold a person civilly liable for a dog bite if he ordered the animal to attack the victim; or if he knew the dog bit someone previously or had a history of aggression toward people. Almost all states consider a person responsible for negligence that leads to a bite. Dog owners, landlords, care centers, and former dog owners can all be held accountable for such injuries.
The following states are “one bite” states—meaning they may shield a person from responsibility if it’s the first time a dog’s bitten someone:
- Alaska
- Arkansas
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Kansas
- Maryland
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Nevada
- New Mexico
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Oregon
- South Dakota
- Texas
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Wyoming
If your attack occurred in a one-bite state, the law protects the dog owner and other parties connected to the dog unless the court finds previous attacks, negligence on the owner’s part, or pet ownership for the sake of hurting people.
The other 32 states impose statutory strict liability for dog attacks, meaning the owner is legally liable to the victim. Some states allow certain exceptions, for example, if the victim was trespassing or if he provoked the dog by abusing him.
If you’ve been attacked by a dog, consult with an attorney to ascertain how city, county and state laws affect you specifically. You may receive money through the owner’s insurance (homeowners, renter’s, landlord’s, and more) for:
- Medical treatment, now and in the future (for example, scar reduction)
- Psychological counseling to address the trauma
- Loss of earnings during your treatment
- Torn clothing and broken glasses
- Medications
- Pain and suffering
- Future disability
Tags: dog bite, dog bite law
In Raleigh, North Carolina last year, police responded to 367 reports of animal attacks—a 56% increase since 2000. According to the News & Observer.com, someone is bitten by a dog every day in Raleigh.
The newspaper goes on to report that many dog bite victims in the city are not happy with the way dog bite cases are handled, saying that the burden of proof and the costs of the injuries frequently lie with the dog bite victims.
State law requires that all dogs must undergo a 10-day quarantine and rabies check.
One Raleigh dog bite victim, Malinda Delbridge, was bitten by a pit bull late last year trying to pull its jaws off her poodle. The pit bull’s owner paid a $50 fine for not having proof of a rabies vaccine and $150 to release the dog from quarantine. Delbridge was billed $300 for medical expenses.
In North Carolina, a dog is considered dangerous if it has terrorized someone, broken a victim’s bones, or caused a disfiguring injury. This means that most of the time, a dog has to bite someone first before it can be considered “dangerous.” According to one animal control supervisor, a dog in Raleigh gets classified as “dangerous” no more than three times annually because the bite wounds are not considered serious enough.
A Raleigh appeals board meeting last September to hear dangerous dog cases was the first time the group had met in five years.
Other North Carolina cities and counties are reportedly tougher when it comes to classifying dogs as dangerous. In Cumberland County last year, animal control declared 29 dogs dangerous after they bit humans and 15 dogs that exhibited violence against other dogs were classified as aggressive. The city of Charlotte classified 10 dogs as dangerous.
In North Carolina, if a doctor does not call an injury a dog bite, it cannot be reported as one—which may lead to many dog bite injuries going unreported.
To prove owner negligence in a North Carolina injury dog bite case, the victim must prove that the dog was unattended, not on its owner’s property at night, or had already been classified as “dangerous.”
If you or someone you love has sustained a serious dog bite injury in North Carolina or South Carolina, one of our dog bite lawyers would be happy to discuss your legal options with you.
A Few Dog Bite Facts:
• Nationally, 334,000 victims a year are treated in emergency rooms for dog bites.
• Dog bites are among the leading injuries that require medical attention.
• More than half of dog bite victims are children.
Dog-bite law tough on victims, Newsobserver.com, January 20, 2008
Dog Bite Statistics, The Pet Friendly House
Related Web Resources:
North Carolina Dog Bite Law
South Carolina Dog Bite Law
