Dog Bite Injury Lawyer High Ridge, MO
Dog Bite Injury Lawyer High Ridge, 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 High Ridge, MO and interacting with any dog can bring us a lot of joy. However, dogs are 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 compensated. There are High Ridge 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 in High Ridge, MO. When you or someone you know becomes the victim of a dog bite, it is our job to help you recover fair compensation.
If your or your family member has been injured in a dog bite incident, call Combs Waterkotte today at (314) 900-HELP. Our High Ridge, MO dog bite injury lawyers handle each case with compassion and fervor. You did not 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 experienced because of your injuries, but for a chance to receive just compensation, you are going to need help from a skilled High Ridge, 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. Discuss your High Ridge, MO case with Combs Waterkotte for free today. Start your recovery by reaching us now.
What compensation can my High Ridge, MO dog bite injury lawyer help me receive?
Every High Ridge, MO dog bite injury claim is unique 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 High Ridge, MO dog bite case ranges anywhere from $10,000 in bites that cause minor but demonstrable injuries to more than $100,000 for bites that result in severe, lasting damage and costly medical care. Remember, though, that to find out the possible settlement amount you can recover in your High Ridge, MO dog bite claim, 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 how extensive and debilitating your injuries and other damages are.
Types of damages available in a dog bite injury case in High Ridge, MO include:
- Medical expenses
- Ambulance bill
- Emergency room fees
- Hospital stay costs
- Doctors’ bills
- Surgery
- Costs of treatment
- 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 is determined by a combination of many variables, including whether you hire an experienced High Ridge, MO lawyer. Remember that a dog bite injury lawyer in High Ridge, MO like a member of the Combs Waterkotte team will only agree to represent you if they can add value to your case and help you recover more than you could on your own. This also takes into account the contingency-fee-basis on which we operate, which means that your Combs Waterkotte High Ridge, 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 High Ridge, MO area offer our dedicated representation at no out-of-pocket costs to you. There is no reason not to speak to our High Ridge, 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 High Ridge, MO?
The average dog bite injury settlement is 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 in your particular case. In order to understand the complexities of your unique case and learn what to expect from your recovery, you need to speak to a dog bite injury lawyer in High Ridge, MO. Trust the High Ridge, MO dog bite attorneys of Combs Waterkotte and contact us to review your dog bite injury case now.
Factors That Influence Your Settlement in a Dog Bite Case
Factors related to the dog bite that can affect the value of your claim include:
- You have scarring or are disfigured as a result of the dog bite.
- The dog bite has made you permanently disabled.
- Your dog bite injuries necessitated emergency medical attention.
- You had to receive surgery or other significant medical treatments for your injuries.
- You required mental health treatment for the psychological injuries you suffered due to the dog bite.
When you hire Combs Waterkotte, your High Ridge, 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 argument to get you an excellent result in your High Ridge, MO dog bite injury claim.
Beyond the circumstances of the accident and the severity of your injuries, the total compensation your High Ridge, MO 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 sum of the economic damages you have suffered as a result of the bite, including the total cost of all of your medical bills
- How your dog bite injury lawyer calculates the value of your non-economic damages
- How effectively your dog bite injury lawyer negotiates and how resistant the defendant is
On average, settlements in dog bite attacks and other personal injury cases are threefold for plaintiffs who hire a dog bite injury lawyer for representation than for those in dog bite cases who attempt to reach a settlement without legal representation. Discover how Combs Waterkotte can help you collect a higher, more just settlement in your High Ridge, MO dog bite case by reaching us at (314) 900-HELP today to go over your case with a knowledgeable High Ridge, MO dog bite injury lawyer.
High Ridge, MO Dog Bite Injury Lawyer: Who Is Liable
To settle your case at a sum that can help you move forward in life after being harmed in a dog bite incident, you will need a dog bite injury lawyer in High Ridge, MO you can trust to help you determine who is legally responsible for the damages you have suffered and, thus, who to hold accountable for your suffering.
The idea of liability in a dog bite or any personal injury case describes who is responsible for your losses. With a Combs Waterkotte dog bite injury lawyer in High Ridge, MO, you have a professional who knows Missouri law and has seen many different situations regarding liability in personal injury cases including dog bite injuries. 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 — irrespective of their intention or whether there was fault. That means that your High Ridge, MO dog bite injury attorney does not need to prove that the owner of the dog that bit you was negligent or had the dog attack you on purpose. 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 High Ridge or Missouri dog bite owner is legally responsible 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 not trespassing and a dog bit you unprovoked, your Combs Waterkotte dog bite injury lawyer in High Ridge, MO will use our expertise to get you an excellent recovery in your strict liability claim against the dog’s owner, and most of the time it is the dog owner’s homeowners or renters insurance that pays out the settlement for 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 seen as negligent and your Combs Waterkotte dog bite injury lawyer will diligently 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 refers to liability that is assigned automatically through the act of breaking a law. Rather than proving that the defendant did not act with care as a reasonable person would, your High Ridge, MO dog bite lawyer can show that the defendant is liable for your injuries because of the simple fact that they broke a law that was meant to protect you. For example, certain cities and municipalities have laws that require owners to keep their dogs on leashes or ban dogs from being on others’ properties without permission from the property owner. If the person looking after or responsible for the dog broke 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 injuries?
Due to the possibility of additional claims of negligence beyond Missouri’s strict liability policy, it is possible that you have other cases against other parties other than the owner of the dog. Depending on considerations such as who was present, where the bite occurred, and how the parties behaved, your dog bite injury lawyer in High Ridge, MO may identify additional responsible inidividuals in your High Ridge, 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 additional parties share the blame or that the owner has more blame than strict liability covers, take the first step toward your recovery and speak to a dog bite injury lawyer in High Ridge, MO about your case as soon as possible. Combs Waterkotte is equipped with a team of exceptional High Ridge, MO dog bite injury attorneys willing 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 Missouri law. The legal team at Combs Waterkotte will get you the recovery you deserve. Call us now at (314) 900-HELP.
Our High Ridge, 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 High Ridge, 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 High Ridge, MO with Combs Waterkotte can help you seek justice. A dog bite can be quite traumatic, and the physical and psychological injuries it leaves can have a significant impact on your life. You have a chance to receive the recovery you deserve by speaking to an accomplished High Ridge, MO dog bite injury lawyer today.
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 you or someone you love have been injured by a dog bite, call Combs Waterkotte as soon as possible at (314) 900-HELP or send us a message to learn how we can help you with your case.