Can You Sue If a Dog Bite Inflicts Minor Injuries?

Domestic dogs are so friendly that it is easy to forget how much damage a dog bite can do.  People play and roughhouse with rottweilers, German shepherds, and all kinds of other big, strong dogs, and the human and the dog seem to share an unspoken understanding that it is all in good fun, just a wrestling match between friends.  A playful nip from a small dog, or even from a big dog, isn’t really a problem, is it?  Certainly, you wouldn’t sue your friend if your friend’s dog accidentally nipped you when it got caught up in the excitement of a tussle over a frisbee.  Whether it makes sense to laugh off a dog bite when you know that the dog did not mean to hurt you depends on the severity of your injuries.  Georgia does not have a hard and fast rule about the definition of a dog attack, as opposed to a love nip.  In personal injury law, your rights are the same regarding accidental injuries as intentional ones; this applies equally to motor vehicle accidents, slip and fall injuries, and dog bite cases, among other types of personal injury claims.  If an apparently minor dog bite has turned out to be a major financial burden, contact an Atlanta dog bite lawyer.

Does Georgia Have a Dog Bite Equivalent of the Fender Bender Law?

When is a dog bite a big enough deal that it is worthwhile to get the courts involved?  It depends on the severity of the injuries, which is another way of saying that it depends on the cost of the medical bills.  Georgia and many other states have “fender bender” laws that require drivers to report a car accident to the police if the accident causes a certain dollar amount of vehicle damages.  Dog attacks tend to cause little or no property damage to the bite victim.  Instead, the losses are usually in the form of medical expenses.

According to Georgia law, you have the right to seek damages from the dog’s owner if a dog bites you and causes serious injury.  In practice, it is usually possible to cover the dog bite-related medical expenses by filing an insurance claim with an insurance policy held by the dog owner.  Even for minor injuries that cause only a few hundred dollars of medical bills, you may be able to resolve the matter in small claims court.

How Can You Tell How Serious a Dog Bite Injury Is?

If a dog bites you and breaks the skin, you should go to the emergency room to be examined, even if the injuries do not seem severe.  The doctor might give you antibiotics or a tetanus booster.  If the dog has not been vaccinated for rabies, you might also need a rabies vaccine.

Contact Zagoria Law About Dog Bite Cases

An Atlanta personal injury lawyer can help you if you have been bitten by a dog and the injuries are more severe than they originally seemed.  Contact Zagoria Law in Atlanta, Georgia to discuss your case.

Sources:

cdc.gov/importation/bringing-an-animal-into-the-united-states/vaccine-certificate.html

kidshealth.org/en/parents/bites.html