Fort Collins Dog Bite Attorneys

At ELKUS & SISSON, P.C., our team of seasoned professionals brings a wealth of experience to navigating complex legal challenges with precision and dedication.

If you or a loved one have been bitten or attacked by a dog, you may have a legal right to substantial financial compensation. The Fort Collins dog bite lawyers at Colorado Accident Attorneys provide clients with aggressive and diligent legal representation.

How you establish liability for the dog bite under Colorado law depends on whether you have suffered serious bodily injury. If that is the case, there is strict liability. All other dog attacks require you to prove negligence to qualify for compensation. Either way, you need an experienced attorney to represent you.

Get legal help from the Colorado Accident Attorneys today. All it takes to get in touch with a lawyer who will listen is a quick phone call or online message. You can talk to one of our attorneys by calling us today at 303-567-7981 or by reaching out to us through our website.

Portrait of a big boxer dog barking in the park.

Common Dog Bite Injuries

If the dog’s bite breaks the skin, the most immediate risk that you face is infection. A dog’s saliva has over 400 types of bacteria. You could even begin to develop an infection within hours of the bite that requires immediate medical attention. A serious infection can even lead to sepsis.

Other common injuries from dog bites include:

Cuts and lacerations
Nerve damage
Eye injuries
Puncture wounds
Tetanus
Bone damage

Dog bite injuries can lead to permanent effects on your life. You could suffer scarring that is visible and could change your appearance. The emotional scars of the attack could stay with you for the rest of your life, leading to post-traumatic stress disorder or panic attacks when you see another dog.

Colorado Dog Bite Law

Colorado dog bite law is not always easy to understand. People refer to Colorado as a “strict liability” state, which means that the dog’s owner is responsible to pay damages, even on the first time that the dog bites someone. However, strict liability applies only when a dog causes “serious bodily injury.” Under Colorado law, serious bodily injury is defined in part as an injury that causes:

“a substantial risk of death, a substantial risk of serious permanent disfigurement, a substantial risk of protracted loss or impairment of the function of any part or organ of the body.”

Even when your injury does not meet the definition of “serious” under the law, you can still qualify for compensation when you show that the dog’s owner was negligent.

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Dog Bite Compensation

personal-injury-attorney-showing-settlement

You are entitled to full compensation for all the harm that the dog has done to you. Dog bite damages break down into two broad categories:

Economic damages cover the actual financial costs associated with your injury, whether it is money you had to spend (such as medical expenses) or funds that you cannot earn.
Non-economic damages compensate you for the experience associated with your injuries, both in the past and future. These damages can include pain and suffering and any emotional distress that you are experiencing.

It is hard to say what your case may be worth without knowing more about your individual situation. Your dog bite damages depend on how you have been harmed individually and do not depend on any averages.

The Dog Bite Claims Process

Animals are usually covered under the owner’s insurance policy, whether it is homeowner’s or renter’s insurance. Accordingly, you would need to deal with the insurance company in some fashion before you can get a dollar in compensation. These insurance companies try to do everything they can to pay as little as they can.

There are two potential routes to financial compensation. You could file a claim directly with the insurance company. Then, you would go through an informal process where you would negotiate compensation with the insurance company, provided that they accept liability for the dog attack. Even though the legal process is informal, it may still take a prolonged amount of time before you could reach a settlement agreement. The insurance company may drag out the process.

You could also sue the dog’s owner in court. The insurance company would have a duty to defend their policyholder, and you would still need to deal with them to negotiate a settlement.

Most dog bite cases end in a settlement, but you have the option and right to go to court if necessary.

Contact a Fort Collins Dog Bite Attorney Today

See how the Colorado Accident Attorneys can hold the dog’s owner accountable by scheduling a free initial consultation. We will answer any questions that you may have and explain how the law could work in your case. You can get in touch with one of our attorneys by calling us today at 303-567-7981 or by messaging us through our website. The call is completely free, and you only pay us if you win your case.