What Happens When A Dog Bites Me Or A Loved One In The Face In Virginia?
Key Highlights:
- Injuries caused by facial dog bite Virginia are usually severe because there are many sensitive structures within the face that could be affected (e.g., bones, nerves, eyes).
- The most frequent incidents of child facial dog bite happen to children and are very severe when they do occur.Â
- Dog bite liability Virginia is not a strict liability state, where the liability usually arises due to either the owner’s knowledge or negligence.Â
- Dog bite scarring compensation for permanent scarring and emotional distress constitutes an important part of the facial injury claim.Â
- The compensation is typically obtained from homeowner’s or renter’s insurance.
What Happens When a Dog Bites Me or a Loved One in the Face in Virginia?Â
Dog bites to the face usually happen very quickly, can typically happen to children, and can leave physical and emotional scars in one of the most easily visible areas of our bodies. If you have or have had a facial dog bite Virginia injury (yours or someone else’s), it is a fair assumption that you have many other thoughts occupying your mind besides just the injury itself. This article will cover all of the medical/legal issues related to a dog bite to the face injury claim within Virginia.
I’m Robert Tatum, an attorney at Tatum & Atkinson Law Firm, which has been providing legal counsel since 2006 as a veteran-owned law firm. Our firm has extensive experience in handling facial dog bite Virginia lawsuits, with over 65 years of experience collectively between my partners and me. If you are ever involved in a dog bite to the face injury claim, we have the resources to advocate for your rights and successfully represent you.
The Importance of Facial Bite Injuries from Dogs
Injuries from dog bites on the face may be permanent owing to the intricate nature of the body parts in question, which include:
Sensory Organs in Compact Space
The human face has all of our sensory organs (nerves and sensory receptors) in a very small space; our eyes, tear ducts, lips, ears, and thin skin covering bones are all located next to each other on our faces.Â
Since facial dog bite Virginia incidents can also occur where there is more bone tissue and muscle compared to other parts of the body, they can do more damage, and therefore, our appearance and the function of our bodies are significantly affected.
Why Children Suffer More from Bites
As per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, child facial dog bite victims are bitten more and sustain more serious wounds than adults. The face of a young child is always at dog level, and the dog is mostly familiar to the family.
Face Trauma Due to Dog Bite Injury
Based on the strength of the dog attack and the area affected, a facial dog bite could cause the following:
Lacerations, Puncture Wounds, and Avulsion
Tears, puncture holes, or total tissue loss are some examples. The third type of wound is more serious than the first two and can be from a laceration or tearing away of the skin. Lacerations and avulsions should usually be treated surgically, not just by stitching them together.
Facial Nerve Injuries
There are many nerves in the face. Damage to the facial nerve will result in loss of feeling, weakness, and even paralysis, affecting the ability to express emotion, blink, and move.
Eye or Eyelid Injury
Injuring an area close to the eyes is likely to damage the eyelids, tear ducts, and the eye itself. This will have implications for sight and will require special attention.
Facial Fractures
A strong bite can result in fractures of the nasal bones, eye sockets, and jawbones. They require surgical repair and will affect breathing, eating, and facial appearance.
Permanent Scarring and Facial Disfigurement
Dog bite scarring compensation begins with the scarring that is the final result of a facial bite wound. A severe bite injury, no matter how well it has been attended to, is likely to leave some scarring behind.
Treatment and Road to Healing
The process of healing from a dog bite injury to the face will involve several aspects, including:
Why Immediate Attention is Needed
Quick attention helps not only in reducing pain but also in minimizing risks of infection and scarring while also determining rabies and tetanus shot requirements. The medical documentation made early on links the injury with the bite, and photographs taken over several days illustrate its development process.
Reconstruction and Plastic Surgery
Dog bite to the face injury claim cases require plastic or oral-maxillofacial surgeons’ involvement in treating injuries and repairing bone fractures. In several months, scar revision surgery is likely to be performed to help the patient function normally and restore a normal look.
Multiple Operations and Long-Time Treatment
There are no one-time treatments in case of dog bites. As for the developing kid, surgeries might be performed for years while the face is developing.
The Psychological Impact
It is not always the wound you see that lasts the longest.
Trauma, Anxiety, and PTSD
Suffering a facial dog bite Virginia may leave someone with nightmares, a new phobia of dogs, flashbacks, and even post-traumatic stress disorder. This problem is solvable by counseling, the costs of which should be covered by a claim.
Self-Image and Confidence
Having a mark on your face affects one’s image of oneself. An adult may become withdrawn and socially inactive or have difficulties performing his/her professional activities because of a loss of confidence.
Specific Issues for a Minor
A child facial dog bite that leaves scarring in the face may affect a child’s future life, having an impact on social relationships, education, and his/her self-confidence, as well as being a target for bullying by other children.
Virginia Laws and Who May Be Held Accountable
This is the area where most individuals have a misconception regarding the process followed by Virginia.
Virginia Is Not a Strict-Liability State
While some people believe that Virginia follows the strict liability law and therefore every dog bite leads to dog bite liability Virginia of the owner regardless of circumstances, this is not the case since Virginia does not automatically make the dog owner liable for every dog bite. Instead, liability is established if the owner was negligent or if the owner knew about the dog’s vicious nature, also referred to as the one-bite rule.
Who Can Be Found Liable?
Dog bite liability Virginia can be put on the dog owner, a person keeping the dog, or a landlord knowing about the presence of a dangerous dog on their premises.
How Contributory Negligence Affects Your Case
The contributory negligence law in Virginia gives the defendant a chance to argue that if an adult provoked the dog or trespassed, he is 100% liable and therefore can recover nothing from his claim. However, if the individual who was bitten is less than 7 years old, then he cannot be found liable.
Key Deadlines
When dealing with personal injuries in Virginia, there is a two-year limit on how long an individual has to file a dog bite to the face injury claim after an injury has occurred, according to Virginia Code § 8.01-243. If you are filing a claim for a child, then their case will be held until they reach the age of majority; however, evidence can lose its value over time.
Building A Strong Facial Injury Claim
A dog attack on your face may lead to serious losses, both physically, emotionally, and financially. To have a successful claim, you need to plan for this and pay attention to a number of issues, which include:
Evidence To Prove Your Case
Some excellent examples of evidence for your dog bite to the face injury claim include: Photos illustrating your injury (from when it healed), medical records, animal control reports (if available), witness statements, the dog’s bite history, and rabies vaccination records.
Insurance Policies to Check For
Almost all care for dogs involves some form of liability coverage, which can be either from the dog owner’s home or rental policy, or from their own bank account. Please do some preliminary research to see if there are any restrictions on coverage before asking for assistance.
Compensation That May Be Possible
Your dog bite to the face injury claim case may be for medical expenses already incurred and anticipated in the future, reconstructive surgery, loss of income, pain and suffering, emotional distress, and dog bite scarring compensation, for the scars left by a facial injury.
Factors that Determine the Value of Your Facial Claim
Scars, how noticeable they are, their longevity, the age of the victim, the lifelong impact on a child facial dog bite, the number of operations, emotional damage, and insurance coverage determine the value of a facial injury case.
Steps for a Lawyer in Investigating Facial Dog Bite Claims
A dog bite to the face injury claim case is based on two things: fault and damage. Our Virginia dog bite lawyer has to investigate the…
- Dog’s ownership and history of its bites
- Get the animal control department report
- Document the scars through the surgeon who is treating you
- Call in a doctor and a mental health expert
- And identify the relevant insurance coverage.Â
Our experience tells us that in most cases, the success of a fatal dog bite Virginia case depends on the way the scars and psychological trauma are documented. And we know how to do it.
Facial Dog Bite. Consult With Tatum & Atkinson Law Firm
When you receive a facial dog bite Virginia injury, you don’t only injure your face; you may have damaged your peace of mind, incurred medical expenses, and lost future opportunities as a result of your injury, even if you were initially bitten as a child.Â
The last thing you should have to think about at such a difficult time is handling the legal aspect of your dog bite to the face injury claim, and we offer a no-cost consultation. Our office has been helping to support injured Virginians and their families since 2006, and all Virginia cases are handled by Jon Ward, a Virginia dog bite lawyer based out of our Cedar Bluff office.Â
Our Heavy Hitters have a track record of providing sufficient evidence to establish dog bite liability Virginia against dog owners and in quantifying the harm from a facial dog bite Virginia. Call us at (800) 529-0804 today for a free, confidential consultation. We work on a contingency fee basis, meaning you don’t pay us until a recovery is made on your behalf. No strings attached.
Frequently Asked Questions!
Is the dog’s owner automatically responsible for my facial injuries?
Not necessarily. Dog bite liability Virginia is not a strict liability jurisdiction, so you will need to establish that the owner had reason to know about the danger of the dog or was negligent, such as by violating the leash law. A Virginia dog bite lawyer can assist with proving negligence on behalf of the owner.
My child provoked the dog. Can we still recover?
Yes, usually. In Virginia, a child younger than 7 years old cannot be at fault, so a young child facial dog bite victim’s actions do not serve as a defense against a claim. In any case, the key issue is whether the owner did not properly restrain the dog.
Who pays for a facial dog bite? The owner personally?
The owner’s insurance policy will often be responsible for compensating you if you make an insurance claim on them because of having a dog as part of your property, and there may also (by your insurance company) be restrictions on insuring specific breeds.
What does it cost to talk to a lawyer about a facial bite?
None. Free consultations and contingency mean that if we do not recover for you, there is nothing owed to us. Our costs are paid up front as we build your dog bite to the face injury claim.
Will my facial dog bite case go to trial?
Some may be resolved via insurance, but the serious nature of a dog bite scarring compensation claim may mean that a case has to go to trial to be worth its full value.
