If you get involved in a dog bite accident in California, you can claim money for the injuries incurred the same. To file a lawsuit for getting compensation in such cases, the documentation of the incident is very necessary. The documentation will help you to protect your rights in a dog bite accident case; therefore, you have to give great importance to it, as it will have a significant impact on the compensation you receive.
There are mainly three steps you should take in order to document a dog bite accident:
- Firstly, you should report the incident to the authorities who are associated with controlling animal related issues in your area, like the animal control department. You will have to do it personally and do not assume that the hospital’s report is enough. Hospitals are reporting for an entirely different reason called health statistics and not for animal control enforcement.
- Consult the authorities who control animal related issues and ask them the approval to conduct a “dangerous dog hearing”. It will help you to impose penalties on the dog owner for the injuries caused by his/her dog.
- Talk to a dog bite attorney about filing a lawsuit against the dog owner to make the pay for the injuries you suffered. A claim will help you to recover money for all the damages you suffered because of the accident, like past and future medical treatment, pain and suffering etc. Filing a lawsuit will also let the insurance companies that cover the dog owner’s insurance know about the personal injury accident insurance claim.
For the documentation process, you also have to collect the following evidences. If you consult a good dog bite lawyer he can help you with the task of procuring these details.
- First of all, identify the dog. In some serious cases, this might involve the analysis of a DNA sample. Therefore, it is important to contact a dog bite attorney as soon as possible for such cases.
- Get the name, address and other necessary information about the dog owner. It is also advised to get the dog license information if possible.
- Collect the name and contact details of potential witnesses.
- Take photos of the injuries associated with the accident.
- Obtain information about the insurance company of the dog owner if possible.
You can do these tasks by yourself or can consult a dog bite lawyer to do it on your behalf. A good dog bite attorney will help you with all the procedures associated with documenting the dog bite accident and also filing the lawsuit in the court for claiming the money. He/she will fight for you in the court to claim the maximum compensation that you deserve.