Did you suffer injuries from a dog bite in Winston-Salem, NC? The dog’s owner may owe you compensation for medical bills, lost wages, pain, trauma and more. An experienced Winston-Salem dog bite lawyer at Riddle & Riddle Injury Lawyers can help you maximize your financial award (see disclaimer below). Contact us at (336) 516-9042 to schedule a free consultation.
Our legal team has 190+ years of combined experience, and we’ve recovered over $850 million in compensation (see disclaimer below). You can count on us to provide aggressive legal representation as we fight to secure the justice and compensation you deserve.
Why Choose Riddle & Riddle to Help Me After a Dog Bite Injury in Winston-Salem?
You might expect recovering compensation for dog bite injuries to be simple. The dog clearly bit you, and you suffered injuries. Consequently, the dog’s owner should willingly pay for your losses.
In reality, the process is much more complicated. The owner may try to defend their dog and claim you provoked them. Courts and insurance companies take these and other defenses seriously. That’s why it’s important to have an experienced Winston-Salem personal injury lawyer fighting for the compensation you need.
When you hire Riddle & Riddle, you benefit from a team:
- With almost two centuries of combined experience in personal injury law
- That has successfully recovered hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts (see disclaimer below)
- That’s earned over 1500 five-star Google reviews
- That has been recognized by prestigious legal organizations like Martindale-Hubbell and Super Lawyers
Our Winston-Salem dog bite attorneys put the full weight of our skills, knowledge, and experience to work in every case we take on. We know that every dollar matters, and we’ll vigorously negotiate on your behalf.
To learn more about how we can protect your interests, call our law office in Winston-Salem North Carolina today for a free case evaluation.
How Common Are Dog Bites in North Carolina?
Dog bite injuries are a nationwide problem. According to CDC statistics, about 4.5 million Americans sustain dog bite injuries each year (see disclaimer below). About 800,000 of those dog bite injuries result in a need for medical care.
Treatment alone can be expensive–not to mention the additional losses victims commonly suffer. The Insurance Information Institute estimates that North Carolina insurance companies paid out roughly $15.1 million to settle dog bite injury claims in one recent year (see disclaimer below).
What Is My Winston-Salem Dog Bite Case Worth?
As in any personal injury case, it’s critical to carefully evaluate the details when assessing the value of your dog bite injury case.
The value of your case depends heavily upon:
- The type and severity of your injuries
- How much you’ve spent on medical care
- Any income you’ve lost due to the injury
- Your expected prognosis for recovery
- Anticipated future medical needs
- Any long-term impact on your earning capacity
- The mental and physical suffering you have endured
You will need compelling evidence to establish the value of your dog bite injury case. Many victims suffer significant mental trauma. Putting a dollar value on this type of emotional harm is always difficult.
Insurance companies often seek to take advantage of this fact. They may go to great lengths to minimize the extent of your suffering. Our lawyers won’t let them get away with it. We’re ready to start building your case today, so call for your free consultation.
What Types of Damages Are Available to Dog Bite Victims in Winston-Salem?
North Carolina allows personal injury victims to seek compensation for economic damages and non-economic damages.
Economic Damages
Examples of key economic damages that we’ll pursue include:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Lost wages
- Reduced earning potential
- Physical therapy
- Rehabilitation
- Mental health treatment
Your current economic damages can be verified with receipts, medical records, and other documentation.
You can also seek compensation for reasonably expected future economic losses. Typically, expert testimony is required to establish the anticipated value of your future losses.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages are less concrete. They represent the personal toll the dog bite injury has taken on your life.
Examples of non-economic damages include:
- Pain and suffering
- Mental trauma and distress
- Permanent physical disfigurement and scarring
- Anxiety
- Fear
- Depression
- PTSD
- Diminished quality of life
These damages are harder to calculate because they represent non-financial impacts. That doesn’t make them less important. Our lawyers have seen cases like yours before, and we know how to fight to make the insurance company take your personal suffering seriously.
Who’s Responsible for Paying My Damages After a Dog Bite Injury in Winston-Salem?
Typically, the dog’s owner will be responsible for your damages.
That said, additional parties could be held liable depending on the facts, including:
- Pet sitters
- Dog walkers
- Dog boarding companies
- Veterinarians
- Landlords and business owners who knew about the presence of an aggressive dog
In the end, it depends on the circumstances surrounding your dog attack.
How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Lawyer to Handle My Dog Bite Case in North Carolina?
The attorneys at Riddle & Riddle work on a contingency fee basis. This means that you won’t owe us any money unless we win your case.
If you do recover compensation for you, we will take a percentage of your settlement or verdict once your award is finalized (see disclaimer below). When you decide to hire our law firm, you’ll sign an agreement that specifies that percentage.
Can I Recover Compensation if the Dog’s Owner Blames Me for the Dog Bite Incident in North Carolina?
Provocation is perhaps the most common defense in dog bite injury cases. The owner may try to blame you for teasing, taunting, or doing something that would reasonably provoke the animal to react in an aggressive way.
North Carolina has a strict contributory negligence law, meaning that if you were even slightly responsible for your injuries, you lose the right to damages. The insurance company knows this rigid standard and will do everything possible to pin the fault on you. We’re well-accustomed to these tactics and are prepared to resist them so that your right to compensation remains intact.
We’ll Fight to Recover Compensation for All Your Dog Bite Injuries
Dog bites can cause significant harm, including physical injuries such as:
- Facial injuries
- Eye injuries
- Deep puncture wounds
- Broken bones
- Hand injuries
- Concussions
- Dislocations
- Shoulder injuries
- Soft tissue damage
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Head and neck injuries
- Internal organ injuries
If the dog is not properly vaccinated, the potential for serious injuries increases exponentially. You should always report a dog bite so that the animal can be examined and the injury recorded.
What Must I Prove to Recover Compensation After a Dog Bite in North Carolina?
All states are slightly different when it comes to proving liability for dog bite injuries.
In North Carolina, a strict liability dog bite law applies if one of the following is true:
- The dog was over six months old, and the owner allowed it to roam freely at night.
- The dog had already injured or killed another person in the past.
- The dog was formally classified as a dangerous dog or a potentially dangerous dog.
If your case fits into one of these scenarios, you won’t have to prove the dog’s owner was negligent. By law, the owner is deemed to be responsible regardless of what they did to prevent an injury.
That said, not all cases are so simple. When the strict liability law is not available, you’ll have to prove that the dog’s owner was responsible for your injuries.
How Do I Establish Liability in a Dog Bite Injury Case Where North Carolina’s Strict Liability Laws Do Not Apply?
Like anyone else, dog owners can be held financially accountable when they’re negligent.
A dog’s owner is negligent when:
- They had a legal duty of care (all dog owners have duties when it comes to controlling their animals).
- They breached their duty by failing to take reasonable precautions to prevent injuries.
- The failure to take precautions resulted in the dog bite incident.
- Someone was injured and consequently suffered losses.
Different types of evidence can be useful in proving the dog’s owner was negligent, including:
- Past complaints about the dog
- The owner’s failure to keep the dog secured on their premises
- Violation of local leash laws
Owners of dangerous dogs have a higher duty of care. If the dog’s owner knew, or should have known, that the dog had vicious tendencies, they’re required to take additional precautions to prevent future injuries.
Regardless of your situation, our Winston-Salem dog bite attorneys will explore every option for recovering compensation. We have the legal knowledge to help you recover compensation for all of your damages.
How Long Do I Have to File a Dog Bite Lawsuit in North Carolina?
The statute of limitations in North Carolina personal injury cases is typically three years. You have three years starting from the date of the dog bite to take legal action. After three years, you will likely be unable to recover compensation for your case.
When an injury proves fatal for a loved one, you have two years from the date of death to file a wrongful death lawsuit.
Contact a Winston-Salem Dog Bite Lawyer for a Free Consultation
Riddle & Riddle is here to support you if you were recently bitten by someone else’s dog. Our attorneys have 190+ years of combined experience and have recovered over $850 million in compensation (see disclaimer below). Our experienced Winston-Salem dog bite attorneys can help you hold the dog’s owner liable for the compensation you deserve.
Give us a call today to schedule a free consultation.