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Florida Dog And Animal Bite Lawyer

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According to the United States Humane Society, there are approximately 74.8 million owned dogs in the United States. This does not take into account the number of wild, neglected dogs or those that are in shelters. There are also millions of birds, cats and other animals that people keep as pets. While the majority of these pet owners take exceptional care of these animals, there are those who are negligent and do not treat their animals with the best care. Some may allow their pets to run freely, putting them at risk for rabies, and others who abuse their pets who in turn become violent attackers. Still many other people do not train their dogs properly, which puts the general public at risk. All of these can be classified as owner negligence. If this negligence leads to the injury of another person in the course of an unprovoked animal attack, the owner can be held liable.

Under Florida law, the owner of these dogs are held fully responsible, unless the person injured was trespassing or provoking the animal. Regardless of the reason for the attack, the owner is held 100% responsible. In some states, owners are given one chance if their animal attacks another person. This is known as the one-bite law, a law many feel is antiquated and irrelevant. The law claims that the owner should not be held responsible because he or she had no previous indication of the animal's violent behavior. These laws protect the negligent party, and not the victim.

The Florida dog bite law was created to protect the rights of an injured party filing the lawsuit. Florida's dog bite laws are very strict, and dog owners are liable to the injured in the event that it was their dog that bit the injured individual. No matter what occurred, the owner of the dog is always liable even if that same dog has bitten no one else.

Children are more at risk for dog and animal attacks because they are naturally inquisitive and may not be aware of the dangers of approaching a strange dog. A child's playful behavior may also inadvertently provoke and irritate a dog, causing it to attack; a child may not be aware of the warning signs of an impending attack, and will not be able to prevent it from happening. More than 50 percent of all animal and dog attacks involve children. Parents are advised to teach their children early on about how to deal with dogs and other pets in order to best prevent a future attack.

If you are a dog owner in Florida, you must do whatever is deemed necessary to protect yourself against a lawsuit. This may involve posting a Beware of Dog sign to warn visitors, installing a fence to make sure the dog doesn't wander from your yard, or installing a firm leash system to keep the dog close to the home while it is outside. If someone tries to tease the dog and becomes injured, the individual may be partially negligent for any dog bite occurrence.

Upon a dog bite injury, proper documentation should be made; medical care should be sought as well as the expertise of a dog and animal bite lawyer in Florida who will advise you whether the case is a civil lawsuit or not, depending on the evidence. In Florida , the statute of limitations begins at the time when the dog bite injury is sustained. A local dog bite lawyer attorney will assist in determining your rights and the time limit that the law allows to file such cases in order to recover damages.