Dog Bite Injuries in Pennsylvania and Why Spring Brings a Sharp Rise in Claims

Spring has finally made its way to Pennsylvania. As more of us venture outdoors to enjoy the warmer weather, pets tend to join their owners in the sunshine. This means an increased number of dogs in parks, on walking trails, and amongst children playing in their front yards. It is no wonder that Spring in Pennsylvania sees a significant increase in dog bite insurance claims. 

What Does Pennsylvania Law Say About Dog Bites?

A widely held view of dog bite laws in Pennsylvania is that a dog may bite one person before the owner becomes liable for the harm caused by the bite. Fortunately for dog-bite victims, this is not true. The State of Pennsylvania allows a person injured by a dog bite to protect their rights immediately. 

Damages Available In a Dog Bite Case

The legal system’s goal in a dog bite case is to allow you to recover sufficient damages to make you “whole” when considering all of your losses. Making you whole means that you can essentially find yourself in the same position you were in, in terms of health and financial wherewithal, that you were in moments before the dog bite occurred. 

There is a range of losses a person can suffer when bitten by a dog. Many of these losses come to mind immediately. However, others may only seem obvious after a great deal of contemplation. 

Economic Damages: Simple to Calculate 

As a result of being bitten by a dog, a person may suffer economic damages. As the name indicates, economic damage involves financial losses. These are harms that include medical bills and lost wages. 

Medical bills include emergency room bills, physical therapy, surgical costs, and occupational therapy. These bills will be kept and then submitted to the at-fault party for their consideration. 

Lost wages come into play when the dog bite and its aftermath prevent you from working. Missing work as a result of a dog bite means that an injury victim must keep track of their lost wages through documentation. It is not enough for the victim of a dog bite to simply tell a judge or jury how much money he or she has lost in wages. Rather, it is essential to have documented proof of your lost wages. 

Non-Economic Damages: More Difficult to Calculate But Critically Important

Economic damages are relatively easy to quantify and present to a judge or jury. On the other hand, noneconomic damages take some time to calculate and present in a straightforward manner.

Non-Economic Damages allows an injury victim to put the full extent of their damages to a jury or judge for their consideration. In many situations involving dog bites, the victim will suffer from scarring and other trauma to the skin. Pennsylvania law acknowledges the impact of this scarring from physical, emotional, and social standpoints. 

Additionally, many individuals who suffer dog bites do so at great cost to their mental health. For example, dog bite victims often develop a fear of suffering bites in the future, to the point where it is difficult for that person to spend any amount of time around dogs again. Problems functioning when animals are present can add up to a lifetime’s worth of trauma for dog bite victims.

Comparative Negligence: What It Is and How It May Impact a Dog Bite Case

In Pennsylvania, a judge or jury may find that the victim of a dog bite played a role in the dog attacking them. As counterintuitive as it may seem at first, there are circumstances in which the victim of a dog bite may have unknowingly contributed to the dog adopting an aggressive posture toward the person. 

If a jury or judge finds that a dog bite victim did something to encourage the dog to attack him or her, their damages payout would be reduced by their percentage of the total liability. For example, let’s say that the dog bite victim did something to provoke the dog to approach them. Whatever percentage a jury or judge finds that the victim contributed to the dog bite, that percentage will be subtracted from 100% to determine the award percentage the victim can receive from a judge or jury. 

On the other end of the spectrum, if the dog bite victim is found to be more than 51% at fault for causing the accident, that person cannot recover any damages. That said, an insurance company representing the dog’s owner understands this reality. Expect the insurance company to try to use every trick in the book to convince a judge or jury that their client and their dog are less to blame for the incident than the victim. 

Specific Areas of Pennsylvania Law Important to Dog Bite Victims

There are multiple ways to recover damages in Pennsylvania as a dog bite victim. A Pennsylvania dog bite attorney knows how to maximize an injured person’s recovery after suffering significant losses due to the actions of a dog and their owner. 

For example, a dog owner is strictly liable for the medical bills that result from their dog biting someone. It does not matter what the actions of the dog’s owner were (or weren’t),r nor does it matter if the dog had a history of acting aggressively. Whatever medical treatment is required for the dog bite becomes the responsibility of the dog’s owner.

Once medical bills are considered, a dog bite victim must be able to prove that the dog’s owner did not exercise reasonable care when looking after the dog. In other words, the dog owner must be found negligent in caring for the dog. Breaking a leash law or disregarding a dog’s prior aggressive behavior are examples of potentially negligent behavior by dog owners. 

Contact Anthony C. Gagliano, III, Esquire, P.C. for a Free Case Review

The experienced team of legal professionals at Anthony C. Gagliano, III, Esquire, P.C. takes its responsibility to serve our clients seriously. Contact a Pennsylvania dog bite attorney today for a free case review.