ONE BITE ONE LAWYER

One bite is all it takes to suffer serious personal injury from an animal attack. Animal bites can cause severe lacerations, puncture wounds, disfigurement, broken bones, poisoning, bacterial infections, rabies and even death. Most injuries, including injuries to children, are to the head and neck region. Austin injury attorney Stephen G. Nagle is a personal injury law specialist* that has the skill in and familiarity with handling dog and other animal bite cases and will fight for the compensation to which you are entitled.

Animal attacks can come from cats, birds, snakes and ferrets; they can also come from farm animals such as horses, sheep, cattle and chickens. However, the most common animal attack is from “man’s best friend.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) estimates that 800,000 people each year seek medical attention for dog bites, and over half of these people are children. Dog bite injuries are highest in children ages five to nine. According to the CDC, based on breeds of dogs involved in fatal human attacks, the top five most dangerous breeds are the Pit bull, the Rottweiler, the German shepherd, the Siberian husky and the Malamute.

Texas follows the “one bite rule.” Under this rule, to prove liability for a dog bite, one of the following must occur:

• The owner knew that the dog had bitten someone before or had the dangerous tendency to bite a person.
• The person handling the dog was negligent, and that negligence caused the bite.
• The accident resulted from a violation of a leash law, prohibition against dogs trespassing or running at large, or a similar animal control law.
• The person handling the dog intentionally caused the injury.

NAGLE’S NUGGET: Texas recognizes the right of bystanders to recover damages for mental anguish caused by witnessing an accident. The bystander must be a parent or a child of the victim, and the victim must die or suffer serious injury. The bystander must be in close proximity to the accident and the mental anguish must be from seeing the accident. This applies to animal attacks as well.

The compensation awarded for injuries from animal attacks is similar to other personal injury cases such as car accidents, truck accidents, slip and fall injuries and motorcycle and bicycle accidents. These damages include present and future medical expenses, pain and suffering, lost wages and in the case of wrongful death, loss of consortium. In addition, if another animal kills or injures your pet, you may be entitled to compensation. There is no reason to bear both emotional pain and huge veterinarian bills.

Austin injury attorney Stephen G. Nagle is well versed in state and local bite laws and has the knowledge and keen eye for the law to cull through all of the facts and evidence, ensuring you get the compensation you deserve. One bite, one lawyer – contact an Austin injury lawyer at Stephen G. Nagle & Associates for a free, no risk consultation.