How To Avoid A Dog Bite Incident?

Dog bite incidents are major events that could have serious legal, health, and financial consequences on involved parties. A team of Delaware County personal injury lawyers wants our clients to fully understand that the best way for you to stay away from these potential pitfalls is to avoid such incidents at all costs.

Dangers Of Dog Bites

Arguably, the most significant problem you may face in a dog bite’s wake is health concerns. Even minor bites could yield major life-threatening events like infections and rabies necessitating aggressive treatment. Moreover, said occurrences could result in staggering medical bills and long-term disability, which could have devastating financial fallout.

Moreover, such incidents could result in adverse outcomes for the offending dogs and their owners. In many instances, said creatures are taken away from their families and may even be put to sleep. Additionally, owners might face serious legal or civil consequences if some type of legal ruling body determines that their negligence led to the biting.

Steps You Can Take To Avoid Dog Bites

Fortunately, you can enact several safeguards geared towards reducing your chances of being involved in a dog bite incident as a victim or as a dog owner including:

Engaging In Responsible Pet Ownership

As an owner, you can lessen the risk of your dog becoming a statistic by practicing responsible pet ownership. This means partaking in activities like properly socializing your pet so it knows how to behave in the presence of other people and animals and keeping it out of potentially dangerous situations.

Interpreting A Dog’s Body Language

Angry or aggressive dogs usually transmit telltale signs before biting or attacking, such as growling, snarling, barking loudly, or jumping. Therefore, animals displaying these behaviors should be avoided.

Employing Common Sense

You should always use common sense tactics including not approaching a stray or strange dog, never petting a dog without its owner’s permission, avoiding teasing or roughhousing with any canine, or chasing, running from, shouting at, or startling a dog, or interrupting them while they are eating. Furthermore, those with young children should continually stress the preceding behaviors with their offspring.

Actions To Take If You Are Bitten

In the unfortunate event, you sustain a dog bite, you are implored to take actions including:

Obtaining The Owner’s Information

If the dog is accompanied by its owner or guardian, you are obliged to obtain pertinent information, such as the type of dog, its inoculation history, and the owner’s contact information.

Inform Local Animal Control

If the dog was unaccompanied, some states mandate that any biting incidents be reported to animal control establishments. Stray dogs might be infected with the rabies virus, which is a public safety concern for both dogs and the general public.

Seek Prompt Medical Attention

Even the most minor bites should receive a thorough and quick medical evaluation. Naturally, said action is vital to ensuring your health and well-being are preserved. However, a complete and fast diagnosis will also prove crucial to any civil litigation proceeding.

Document The Incident

Those involved in a biting incident are strongly encouraged to document the events. Carefully write down everything that happened leading up to the incident and, if possible, include testimony from any reliable eyewitnesses. Complete descriptions could help bite victims or individuals charged with animal neglect establish a stronger case.

Contacting Us

Arguably, the most crucial action one could take after such an unfortunate incident is to contact a dog bite lawyer in Delaware County, PA.

The skilled attorneys employed by the Katz Injury Law possess appreciable experience handling dog bite cases and yielding favorable results for our clients. If you were involved in the said occurrence, please consult with us today. We can assess the facts surrounding your case and help you decide the most appropriate next steps.

To learn more about us, please contact us today