Dog Bite Injury Lawyer St. Ann, MO
Dog Bite Injury Lawyer St. Ann, MO. We love our pet dogs and may even go so far as to call them family members or honorary coworkers. Many of us have pet dogs in St. Ann, MO and we get a lot of joy from spending time with them. However, dogs are still animals and cannot communicate with 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 given a recovery. Though we have a number of laws in St. Ann and Missouri and recommendations responsible pet owners can follow to prevent dogs from attacking humans, but dog bites and dog bite injuries still occur in St. Ann, MO. When it happens to you or a loved one, we hare here to ensure that you get a fair recovery.
If your or your family member has been injured in a dog bite incident, contact Combs Waterkotte today at (314) 900-HELP. Our St. Ann, MO dog bite injury lawyers represent each case fervently and with great care and dedication. You did nothing to deserve to be injured and you should not have to suffer the consequences on your own. Missouri law provides a path for you to recover full compensation for the full extent of the losses you have suffered because of your injuries, but in order to collect just compensation, you are going to need help from a skilled St. Ann, MO dob bite injury lawyer. Our team of competitive attorneys have the experience and resources to make sure you are made whole again and allowed to move forward from this experience. Review your St. Ann, MO case with Combs Waterkotte for free today. Start your recovery by contacting us now.
What compensation can my St. Ann, MO dog bite injury lawyer help me receive?
Each St. Ann, MO dog bite injury claim is different and it is normal to have a number of questions running through your mind after being injured by a dog. The amount in damages you could recover in your St. Ann, MO dog bite case ranges anywhere from $10,000 for minor but demonstrable injuries to easily over $100,000 for bites that result in more serious, permanent damage and costly medical bills. Remember, though, that to find out the possible settlement amount you can expect to receive for your St. Ann, MO dog bite injuries, speak to a Combs Waterkotte dog bite injury lawyer in St. Ann, MO about your case. Your compensation depends, in addition to other factors, on the extent of the damages or losses you have experienced.
Damages you can recover in your St. Ann, MO dog bite injury case include:
- Medical costs
- Ambulance bill
- Emergency room fees
- Hospital stay costs
- Doctors’ bills
- Surgery
- Treatment costs
- Prescriptions
- Physical therapy, chiropractic, and other outpatient care
- Mental health counseling
- Physical pain
- Emotional and psychological suffering
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Lost wages
- Lost future earning capacity
- Loss of benefits
The total sum you collect depends greatly on a variety of variables, including whether you hire an experienced St. Ann, MO lawyer. Remember that a dog bite injury lawyer in St. Ann, MO 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 also takes into account the contingency-fee-basis on which we operate, which means that your Combs Waterkotte St. Ann, MO dog bite injury lawyer will not charge you anything unless we win your case. Then, at the end of the case, we collect a percent of your full settlement. That means our experienced dog bite injury lawyers in the St. Ann, MO area offer our dedicated representation at no out-of-pocket costs to you. There is no reason not to speak to our St. Ann, MO dog bite injury lawyer team about your case to find out if we can help.
How much can I get for my case with a dog bite injury lawyer in St. Ann, MO?
The average dog bite injury settlement is about $40,000 for a “severe but typical dog bite injury”, while dog bites that cause permanent scarring and disfigurement settle for closer to $100,000 and dog bites that result in permanent disability can result in settlements of over $200,000.
Unfortunately, these numbers are not guarantees in your particular case. Because your recovery depends on the unique circumstances and characteristics of your individual case, you need to talk to a dog bite injury lawyer in St. Ann, MO about your case. Turn to the St. Ann, MO dog bite attorneys of Combs Waterkotte and contact us to review your dog bite injury case now.
Factors That Affect Your Settlement in a Dog Bite Case
The following factors determine the value of your case:
- The dog bite leaves visible scarring or disfigurement.
- The dog bite has made you permanently disabled.
- Your dog bite injuries necessitated emergency medical attention.
- Your injuries require you to undergo surgery or receive other extensive medical care.
- You required mental health treatment for the psychological injuries you suffered due to the dog bite.
When you hire Combs Waterkotte, your St. Ann, MO dog bite injury lawyer will remain committed to investigating and proving the statements above that apply in your case. We put the full weight of our resources behind collecting evidence, evaluating liability and building a strong case to get you an excellent result in your St. Ann, MO dog bite injury claim.
Beyond the circumstances of the accident and the extent of your injuries, the total recovery your St. Ann, MO dog bite injury lawyer can secure for you will also depend on other factors, such as:
- Who is liable for the dog bite
- The liable party’s insurance coverage policy limits
- The sum of the economic damages you have suffered as a result of the bite, including the cost of your medical expenses
- How your dog bite injury lawyer calculates your non-economic damages
- How effectively your dog bite injury lawyer negotiates and how resistant the defendant is
On average, settlements in personal injury claims like dog attacks are threefold for victims who hire a dog bite injury lawyer for representation than for plaintiffs who attempt to settle their case on their own. Find out if Combs Waterkotte can help you collect a higher, more just settlement in your St. Ann, MO dog bite case by calling us at (314) 900-HELP today to ask an experienced St. Ann, MO dog bite injury lawyer about your case.
St. Ann, MO Dog Bite Injury Lawyer: Determining Who Is Liable
In order to successfully collect a complete settlement that can help you move forward in life after being harmed in a dog bite incident, you will need to work with your St. Ann, MO 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 has to do with who is at fault for your losses. With a Combs Waterkotte dog bite injury lawyer in St. Ann, MO, you have a professional who knows Missouri law and has first-hand experience with a variety of situations regarding liability in dog bites and other personal injury cases. We help you hold the right people accountable and make sure they pay for the losses 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 is a legal policy that names a party accountable — in this case, the dog owner — regardless of fault or intention. In application, it means that your St. Ann, MO dog bite injury attorney does not necessarily have to show 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 that the owner’s dog bit you. Specifically, the Missouri statute lays out that the St. Ann or Missouri dog bite owner is liable for your injuries if:
- you were injured as a result of a dog bite;
- you were on the property lawfully when you were bitten (in other words, you were not trespassing); and
- you did not provoke the dog to attack.
If you were not trespassing and a dog bit you unprovoked, your Combs Waterkotte dog bite injury lawyer in St. Ann, MO will use our expertise to get you a fair settlement in your strict liability claim against the dog’s owner, and typically it is the dog owner’s homeowners or renters insurance that pays out the settlement for your damages. However, you may have claims against other parties under other types of liability standards, too.
- Negligence: You may have a negligence claim if a person was negligent, either through an action or omission, in upholding their duty of care to you. Someone who lets their dog roam the neighborhood freely or fails to crate their anxious dog when strangers or children visit their home could be considered negligent and your Combs Waterkotte dog bite injury lawyer will diligently hold them accountable in a negligence case. A property owner or landlord could be partly liable for your injuries in they knew or should have known about a broken latch on the gate to a normally fenced-in yard and failed to fix it, allowing a dog to get out and attack.
- Negligence per se: Negligence per se refers to liability that is assigned automatically through the act of breaking a law. Rather than comparing the defendant’s behavior to that of a reasonable person in the same situation, your St. Ann, MO dog bite lawyer proves that the defendant is liable for your injuries because of the simple fact that they broke a law that was meant to keep you safe. For example, some towns and municipalities have laws in place mandating that people keep dogs on leashes while off their own property or ban dogs from being on others’ properties without the property owner’s permission. If the person looking after or responsible for the dog violated one of these rules and that dog bit you, ask your attorney about a possible 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 the parties that were present, where the bite happened, and how the parties behaved, your dog bite injury lawyer in St. Ann, MO may identify additional responsible inidividuals in your St. Ann, MO dog bite case, like:
- Landlords
- Stores
- Employers
- Government organizations
- Dog walkers
- Places of business where dogs are present, such as pet stores, dog daycare facilities, etc.
If you or someone you love 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, take the first step toward your recovery and speak to a dog bite injury lawyer in St. Ann, MO about your case as soon as possible. Combs Waterkotte has a dedicated team of talented St. Ann, MO dog bite injury attorneys ready to fight for your recovery and make the right parties pay. You did not deserve to be attacked or harmed, and you should be made whole through all legal remedies available to you under Missouri law. The legal team at Combs Waterkotte will get you a just recovery. Call us now at (314) 900-HELP.
Our St. Ann, MO attorneys can help you seek justice in any type of personal injury or criminal case. The types of cases we take on include but are not limited to:
Dog Bite Injury Lawyer St. Ann, Missouri: Talk to a Lawyer Today
When you or a loved one are suddenly thrown off course by way of an unexpected dog bite injury, a dog bite injury lawyer in St. Ann, MO with Combs Waterkotte will work hard to bring you justice. A dog bite can be quite traumatic, and the physical and psychological injuries it leaves can have a significant impact on your life. Give yourself a chance to receive the recovery you deserve by consulting with an accomplished St. Ann, MO dog bite injury lawyer today.
As your dog bite injury lawyer, we are here to demand that you are justly compensated after suffering the harm of something like a dog bite attack. After you or someone you love have been injured by a dog bite, call Combs Waterkotte right away at (314) 900-HELP or reach us online to learn how we can help you with your case.