Dog Bite Injury Lawyer

Dog Bite Injury Lawyer Missouri

Dog Bite Injury Lawyer St. Louis. Dogs are beloved pets and, to some, even considered family members or honorary coworkers. Many of us have dogs at home and interacting with any dog can bring us a lot of joy. However, dogs are animals and cannot communicate to us verbally. Whether they felt threatened, were sick or for one reason or another were prompted to act on their instincts to attack, when a dog bites you, you should be compensated. There are St. Louis and Missouri laws in place and many things responsible pet owners can do to mitigate the risk of an attack, but dog bites and dog bite injuries still happen. When it happens to you or a loved one, it is our job to ensure that you get a fair recovery.

If your or your family member have been injured in a dog bite incident, call Combs Waterkotte today at (314) 900-HELP. Our St. Louis dog bite injury lawyers handle each case with compassion and fervor. You did not deserve to be injured and you should not have to deal with the consequences on your own. Missouri law provides a path for you to recover full compensation for the damages and losses you have suffered as a result of your injuries, but in order to collect a fair settlement, you will likely need an experienced St. Louis dog bite injury lawyer fighting by your side. Our team of competitive attorneys have the skills and resources to make sure you are made whole again and allowed to move forward from this experience. Discuss your case with Combs Waterkotte for free today. Begin by contacting us now.

What compensation can my dog bite injury lawyer help me receive?

Every dog bite injury case in the St. Louis area is unique and you are likely to have a number of questions running through your mind after being injured by a dog. The value of a dog bite claim could be anywhere from $10,000 for minor but demonstrable injuries to more than $100,000 for bites that result in more serious, lasting damage and costly medical care. However, to truly understand what kind of settlement you can expect to receive in your St. Louis dog bite case, you must speak to a qualified St. Louis dog bite injury lawyer like the attorneys of Combs Waterkotte. Your compensation depends, in addition to other factors, on the extent of the damages or losses you have experienced.

Types of damages available in a dog bite injury case in St. Louis or Missouri include:

The total sum you recover depends greatly on many factors, including whether or not you hire a lawyer. Remember that a dog bite injury lawyer like a member of the Combs Waterkotte team will not take on your case unless we can add value, meaning we will not agree to work for you unless we believe we can help you recover more money than you would be able to recover on your own. This includes our contingency-fee model, which means that your Combs Waterkotte dog bite injury lawyer will not charge you anything unless we win your case. At that point, we accept payment through a percentage of your total settlement once you receive your payment. That means our experienced dog bite injury lawyers in the St. Louis area offer our dedicated representation at no out-of-pocket costs to you. There is no reason not to speak to our dog bite injury lawyer team about your case to find out if we can help.

How much is my case worth if I hire a dog bite injury lawyer in St. Louis?

On average, a victim in a dog bite injury case can recover about $40,000 for a “severe but typical dog bite injury”, while dog bites that leave disfiguring scars could bring closer to $100,000 and permanent disabilities caused by dog bites can settle for over $200,000.

Unfortunately, these numbers are not guarantees for your particular case outcome. In order to understand the complexities of your unique case and learn what to expect from your recovery, it is important that you speak to a dog bite injury lawyer in St. Louis. Turn to the dog bite attorneys of Combs Waterkotte and contact us for a free review of your dog bite injury case now.

Factors That Affect the Value of a Dog Bite Case

Factors related to the dog bite that can affect the value of your claim include:

• The dog bite leaves visible scarring or disfigurement.
• Your injuries have caused permanent disability.
• You need emergency medical care due to your dog bite injuries.
• Your injuries require you to undergo surgery or receive other extensive medical care.
• You suffered psychological harm from the dog bite incident that required professional mental health treatment.

These are all facts of your case that your Combs Waterkotte dog bite injury lawyer will work diligently to get to the bottom of and prove. We put the full weight of our resources behind collecting evidence, determining liability and building a strong case to get you the best possible outcome in your St. Louis dog bite injury claim.

In addition to the circumstances of the accident and the extent of your injuries, the total compensation your dog bite injury lawyer can get you will also depend on other factors, such as:

• Who is liable for the dog bite
• The insurance coverage policy limits
• The total economic losses you have suffered as a result of the bite, including the cost of your medical bills
• How your dog bite injury lawyer calculates the value of your non-economic damages
• The ability of your dog bite injury lawyer to negotiate a settlement for your case

Average settlements in personal injury claims like dog attacks are around three times higher for plaintiffs who hire a dog bite injury lawyer to represent them in their claim than for plaintiffs in dog bite cases who attempt to settle their case without legal representation. Find out if Combs Waterkotte can help you collect a higher, more just settlement for your dog bite injuries by calling us at (314) 900-HELP today to ask an experienced St. Louis dog bite injury lawyer about your case.

Dog Bite Injury Lawyer: Determining Who Is Liable

In order to successfully collect a complete settlement that makes you whole after the losses you have suffered following a dog bite incident, you will need to work with your St. Louis dog bite injury lawyer to determine who to file a claim against and who, in turn, is responsible for your damages.

Liability in a dog bite or any personal injury case describes who is at fault for your damages. A knowledgeable dog bite injury lawyer in St. Louis with Combs Waterkotte knows Missouri law and has seen many different situations regarding liability in personal injury cases including dog bite injuries. We will make sure we hold the right people accountable and make sure they pay for the damages you have suffered.

In Missouri, Revised Statute Section 273.036 puts into effect a practice of strict liability in dog bite injury cases. Strict liabillity assigns legal accountability to a party — in this case, the dog owner — regardless of fault or intention. That means that your dog bite injury attorney does not necessarily have to prove that the owner of the dog that bit you was negligent or that they intentionally allowed the dog to attack you. To win your Missouri dog bite injury case, you only need to show that you were injured and it was the owner’s dog that injured you. Specifically, the Missouri statute lays out that the St. Louis or Missouri dog bite owner is liable for your injuries if:

• you were injured as a result of a dog bite;
• you were on public property or were on a private property legally (in other words, you were not trespassing); and
• you did not provoke the dog to attack.

If you were bitten by a dog that you did not provoke and you were not trespassing, your Combs Waterkotte dog bite injury lawyer in St. Louis will work to get you an excellent settlement in your strict liability claim against the owner of the dog, and typically it is the dog owner’s homeowners or renters insurance that will cover the cost of your damages. However, there may be other types of liability and parties who are to blame for your dog bite injures, too.

• Negligence: You may have a negligence claim if a person was negligent, either in their actions or failure to act, in upholding their duty of care to you. Someone who lets their dog roam the neighborhood freely or does not put their large, aggressive dog away when strangers or children visit their home could be considered negligent and your dog bite injury lawyer can fight to hold them accountable in a negligence case. If a property owner or landlord was aware of but neglected to fix a broken fence and a tenant’s dog got out of the property and bit someone, the landlord may be negligent.
• Negligence per se: Negligence per se is when a party is legally liable by the act of breaking a law. Rather than proving that the defendant did not act with care as a reasonable person would, your dog bite lawyer proves that the person is liable for your injuries because of the simple fact that they broke a law that was meant to keep you safe. For example, certain cities and municipalities have laws that require owners to keep their dogs on leashes or prohibit dogs from being on others’ properties without the property owner’s permission. If the person in possession of the dog broke one of these rules and that dog bit you, you may have a case of negligence per se.

Who is responsible for my dog bite injury?

Because of the potential for negligence claims outside of the strict liability statute in Missouri, you may have a case against other parties in addition to the owner of the dog. Depending on the circumstances of who was involved, where the bite occurred, and how the parties behaved, your dog bite injury lawyer may identify additional responsible parties in your dog bite case, such as:

• Landlords
• Stores
• Employers
• Government organizations
• Dog walkers
• Businesses where dogs are present, such as pet stores, dog daycare facilities, etc.

If you or a loved one were bitten by a dog but you believe that someone beyond the owner is to blame, or that the owner has more blame than strict liability accounts for, act right away and speak to a dog bite injury lawyer in St. Louis about your case as soon as possible. Combs Waterkotte has a dedicated team of talented dog bite injury attorneys ready to fight for your recovery and hold the right parties accountable. You did nothing to deserve being attacked by a dog, and you should be made whole through all avenues of compensation available to you under St. Louis and Missouri law. Let Combs Waterkotte help you get the recovery you deserve. Call us now at (314) 900-HELP.

Dog Bite Injury Lawyer St. Louis, Missouri: Hire a Lawyer Now

After facing the unexpected tragedy of a dog bite injury, a dog bite injury lawyer in St. Louis with Combs Waterkotte can help you seek justice. A dog bite is usually a traumatic experience, and the physical and psychological injuries it leaves can affect your live in profound, unrelenting ways. Give yourself a chance to be made whole again by speaking to an accomplished St. Louis dog bite injury lawyer

As your dog bite injury lawyer, we are here to demand that you are justly compensated when a life-changing incident such as a dog attack causes you harm. After being bitten and injured by a dog, call Combs Waterkotte right away at (314) 900-HELP or send us a message to learn how we can help you with your case.