What Happens If Someone Sics Their Dog on Me and I Get Hurt?

As much as we love our canine friends, they are still animals. Animals do not always act predictably, and even worse, they can be trained by their owners to attack other people. Dog attacks and bites should be handled seriously, as the injuries these animals can impart are oftentimes serious, and can leave the victim disfigured and scarred for the rest of their life. Some dog attacks can even be fatal.

It is important that if you are attacked or bitten by a dog, and you are left with hospital bills or physical therapy costs (not to mention the mental price of it all), then you should seek out a Chicago dog bite accident attorney. A skilled dog bite lawyer can help you secure compensation for your pain, suffering, and medical costs surrounding the injury.

What kind of injuries are common from a dog attack?

Dog attacks can be vicious, even fatal, especially when it comes to small children. The most common injuries that happen to children because of dog bites happen to the face, due to a child’s shorter height. Immediate reconstructive surgery may be needed to fix the child’s injured and scarred face, including other surgeries and procedures that may be required over time.

While children have an increased risk of dying from dog bites, people of all ages have died from dog attacks. In 2020, 28 adults died from dog attacks.

Some of the most common dog bite injuries include:

• Open wounds of extremities
• Open wounds of the head, neck, and trunk
• Crushing injury
• Internal injury
• Fractured bones

Complications from dog bites can be quite serious, and may require immediate attention. These complication include:

• Infectious arthritis. As defined by the Arthritis Foundation, infectious arthritis “is a painful infection in the joint. It can occur when an infection from another part of your body spreads to a joint or the fluid surrounding the joint.” The germs that cause these infections can enter the body in numerous ways, especially through open wounds, such as a dog bite.
• Osteomyelitis. Osteomyelitis is another type of infection that causes inflammation and swelling in the bones. This condition often affects children, and may even require surgery.
• Septicemia. When certain bacteria enters your bloodstream, it can lead to blood poisoning called Septicemia. John Hopkins calls it your body’s most extreme reaction to an infection: “Sepsis that progresses to septic shock has a death rate as high as 50%, depending on the type of organism involved. Sepsis is a medical emergency and needs urgent medical treatment.”

These injuries can be severe, and leave you with long-lasting complications and symptoms. Not only can it affect you physically, but throughout your life. The scarring and disfigurement a dog attack can leave on you or your child can lead to social problems. You may very well lose your job if you are unable to perform your normal tasks after your injury. Not only are you injured and scarred, you are unemployed and losing money. You do not deserve to suffer any more than you already are, and a Chicago dog bite attorney can help.

If someone’s dog attacks me, who is liable?

If you are on someone’s property, having a barbeque or just saying hello, if their dog (or any dog on their property) bites you, then you may be eligible to file a premises liability lawsuit against them since they had a duty of care to keep their property safe for visitors. In Illinois, dog owners are responsible for any harm their dog causes. There are some exceptions, such as when the dog is in the care of a handler such as a dog-groomer or dog-sitter, where the handler may also be held responsible.

Just recently in Chicago, a man had a dog sicced on him as a weapon in a robbery. The dog seemed trained by its owner to attack on command, and it left the victim with severe injuries to his arm and both legs. The victim was able to get himself to the hospital where he was left in serious condition.

Dog trainer Daniel McElroy told CBS Chicago that “a well-trained dog can cripple you or kill you, simple as that." McElroy has been training dogs for 20 years. "A highly trained dog that does obedience, that can do aggression on command, and that can respond to threats to their handler.”

How can a Chicago dog bite lawyer help me?

While the investigation into this man’s attackers is still ongoing, if you are ever attacked by a dog, you deserve compensation, especially if the attack was purposeful. Even if the dog bit you merely by accident, you still have a case against the owner. Dog bites can be fatal, and when they aren’t, they can cause serious injuries, and the complications of those injuries can require further medical treatment.

Such an injury is not an inexpensive one, and you do not deserve to pay for it. Let the experts at Gainsberg Injury and Accident Lawyers help you to receive compensation for the pain, suffering, and financial loss that you’ve experienced. We have spent years assisting the residents of Chicago and Cook County in many aspects of personal injury, including dog attacks. For an initial consultation, call us at 312-600-9585 or use our contact page.