Dog Bite Attorney Serving Washington

What to Do After a Dog Attack in Washington

Whether your injuries were from someone’s pet or a stray dog, you should seek immediate legal action to protect your rights. It’s critical that you go to the hospital so a doctor can evaluate your physical condition. They might need to clean up the wound and administer shots to protect against rabies and tetanus. You might need surgery if there’s significant damage, such as torn tendons or a broken bone.

After your initial medical evaluation, you should follow up with all recommended healthcare professionals. Some people require physical therapy to gain mobility after a debilitating dog bite injury. Others seek counseling for the psychological effects of the attack. It’s essential that you follow your doctor’s orders and continue with the necessary treatment until you heal.

You must also hire a Washington dog bite attorney immediately after the incident. Insurance claims and lawsuits can be confusing for you to handle without the help of an experienced legal team. They require following strict deadlines, completing paperwork, and communicating with opposing parties that don’t want to provide the compensation you deserve.

Insurance companies often look for reasons to deny a person’s claim. They want to avoid a significant settlement payout whenever possible to save money. If they can find evidence that your injury isn’t serious or resulted from a preexisting condition instead of the dog attack, they could provide a lowball offer or deny your claim entirely. Tamaki Law is familiar with these tactics and aggressively pursues the compensation our clients deserve.

Tamaki Law Can Handle the Investigation

Washington is a strict liability state when it comes to dog bites. That means the owner becomes liable for any injuries their dog causes if the victim was lawfully on private or public property at the time of the incident. They should be financially responsible for your medical treatment, prescription drugs, and other costs since their dog was responsible for the physical and emotional harm you suffered.

When you hire Tamaki Law, we will immediately begin investigating the incident to determine whether the dog’s owner should be held liable. We’ll also need to gather evidence to prove what happened, such as:

• Police and animal control reports
• Photos of visible injuries
• The estimated value of personal property damaged in the attack
• Eyewitness statements
• Video surveillance footage
• Copies of your medical records and other documentation
• Pictures from the scene of the incident

Our Washington dog bite attorneys know where to obtain crucial evidence that proves your injury was unprovoked, and the dog’s owner should be held accountable for the attack. We will tirelessly work to build a solid case and try to secure a financial award that adequately compensates for your medical bills, lost income, and other expenses.

Common Injuries Associated with Dog Attacks

Dog bites don’t just affect the outer layers of a person’s skin. A dog’s jaw can apply enough pressure that its teeth can break through the skin and damage tissue, tendons, and muscles. Permanent scarring and disfigurement can occur. Sometimes, doctors must amputate a limb if an untreatable infection develops. Different types of injuries are possible depending on the circumstances of the incident.

Common injuries include:

• Nerve damage
• Head and face injuries
• Loss of limb or amputation injury
• Torn tendons and ligaments
• Puncture wounds
• Facial disfigurement
• Permanent scarring
• Sepsis and other infections
• Rabies
• Tetanus
• Psychological trauma

Unfortunately, some dog bite victims never recover fully. Even after the physical injuries heal, the psychological damage can continue for years or a lifetime. Anxiety, fear of dogs, and other issues can impact your life and affect your daily routine. The compensation you receive should cover any costs you incurred until now and pay for medical treatment or household assistance you need in the future.

Compensation You Could Seek in an Insurance Claim

If you’ve been bitten by a friend’s dog, you may be worried that pursuing compensation from them for your medical expenses can damage your relationship. When you hire Tamaki Law, we can work to get your compensation from their homeowner’s insurance rather than directly from them. That way, you and your friend or family member are not put into an adversarial situation.

Multiple factors will determine the settlement amount you can pursue when you file an insurance claim. If your friend’s dog bit you at their home, you might be able to file a claim with their homeowner’s insurance company. If the attack happened on public property, such as at a restaurant, you could file a liability claim with the business owner’s insurer.

Filing an insurance claim could compensate you for the various losses you suffered, such as:

• Medical bills
• Disfigurement
• Property damage
• Mental anguish
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Pain and suffering
• Loss of income
• Lost future earnings

Tamaki Law has experience calculating the monetary value of dog bite cases. Although each case is unique, there are contributing factors we could use to determine the compensation amount you deserve. These factors might include:

• Type and severity of the injury
• Total expenses resulting from the attack
• Permanent damage caused by the injury
• Duration of medically necessary treatment
• Time missed from work
• Impact of the incident on quality of life
• The estimated cost of future medical care and assistance
• Available insurance coverage
• Emotional or mental effects of the attack

We can’t predict the outcome of any insurance claim, but we can estimate the monetary award you should receive. We’ll do our best to recover the maximum settlement possible to cover your past and future losses.