When you or someone you love is recovering from a dog bite, the last thing you want to worry about is another bill. Fortunately, in most dog bite cases, you pay no upfront fees.
Personal injury law firms like Mattar, P.C., typically handle these cases on a contingency fee basis. This means the law firm only gets paid if they win a settlement or verdict for you. The fee is a percentage of the total amount recovered. This structure allows you to pursue the compensation you need for medical bills, lost income, and other damages without the stress of paying a lawyer out of pocket while you recover.
If you have a question about the costs associated with your dog bite injury, call us at (866) 821-1394.
What Are the Real Costs of a Dog Bite Injury?
The financial impact of a dog bite goes far beyond the initial injury and could quickly turn into a serious financial burden. In legal terms, these losses are known as damages, and recovering them is the primary goal of a personal injury claim.
These costs include:
- Immediate Medical Bills: The initial trip to the emergency room is surprisingly expensive. This includes costs for stitches, wound cleaning, diagnostic tests, and treatment to prevent infection.
- Future Medical Care: Some injuries require more than just initial treatment. You might need reconstructive surgery to repair significant scarring, physical therapy to regain full use of a limb, or psychological counseling to cope with the trauma and potential post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
- Lost Income: A serious injury prevents you from returning to work. This lost income makes it difficult to keep up with your regular household bills, let alone the new medical expenses that are piling up. If the injury causes a permanent disability, it affects your ability to earn a living for the rest of your life.
- Pain and Suffering: This is a legal term for the physical pain and emotional distress the injury causes. While it doesn't have a specific price tag, it is a significant part of the compensation we pursue for you, acknowledging how the injury has rewritten aspects of your life.
How Does a Contingency Fee Actually Work?
A contingency fee agreement is a partnership between you and your attorney. It means our law firm advances the costs of litigation, investing our time, resources, and knowledge into building your case without asking you for a retainer or an hourly fee.
If we successfully recover money for you, our fee is a pre-agreed-upon percentage of that amount. This percentage is standard in the personal injury field and will be clearly explained to you in a written agreement before you sign anything. This transparency ensures there are no surprises.
What Factors Determine the Value of My Dog Bite Claim?
The value of a dog bite claim is calculated based on specific, provable losses. Several factors will influence where your specific case falls:
- Severity of the Injury: Deeper wounds, permanent scarring, nerve damage, or broken bones will result in a higher valuation than minor scratches. The long-term physical impact is a primary consideration.
- Total Medical Expenses: This includes every cost associated with your medical care, from the ambulance ride and initial emergency room visit to projected future surgeries, therapies, or medications. We work to document every single cost.
- Amount of Lost Wages: The more income you have lost, and may lose in the future because of the injury, the higher the value of this part of your claim.
- Impact on Your Life (Pain and Suffering): A jury or insurance adjuster will consider how the injury has affected your daily existence. Do you have lasting anxiety around dogs? This non-economic impact has value under the law.
- Clarity of Liability: When it is clear who the dog's owner is and that their negligence caused the bite, the case is more straightforward. A case where liability is not in dispute sometimes resolves for a higher value more quickly.
How Do New York's Laws Affect My Case?
New York has specific laws that govern dog bite cases. Under New York Agriculture & Markets Law §123, an owner is held "strictly liable" for medical and veterinary costs if their dog is proven to be dangerous.
Simply put, "strictly liable" means that if the owner knew or should have known their dog had a history of vicious behavior, they are responsible for the medical costs, regardless of whether they were careless at the moment the bite happened.
To recover other damages, such as lost wages or pain and suffering, we generally must also show that the owner was negligent. This means they failed to use reasonable care to control their dog, for instance, by violating a local leash law.
Frequently Asked Questions About Dog Bite Lawsuit Costs
Will I have to go to court?
The majority of personal injury cases, including those involving dog bites, are settled out of court. This happens through direct negotiations with the insurance company. However, at Mattar, P.C., we prepare every case as if it is going to trial. This thorough preparation puts you in the strongest possible negotiating position.
What if the dog owner is a friend or family member?
This is a frequent and understandable concern. Remember, the claim is almost always made against their homeowners' insurance policy, not against them personally. The insurance system is designed to have the insurer cover the damages, which prevents the situation from causing financial hardship for your friend or relative.
Can I get compensation if I was partially at fault?
Yes. New York follows a "pure comparative negligence" rule. This legal concept means you still recover damages even if you were partially responsible for the incident. Your compensation award will simply be reduced by your percentage of fault.
What if the dog owner has no insurance?
This situation makes recovery more difficult, but not impossible. We will investigate whether the dog owner has personal assets that may be used to satisfy a judgment in your favor.
Let Us Handle the Financial Worries
Let us focus on pursuing the financial recovery you need to cover your losses. The legal system is in place to help, and our fee structure is designed to make that help accessible to you right now.
For a free, confidential consultation about your case, call Mattar, P.C. today at (716) 444-4444.