ohio dog bite book

TTHHEE OOHHIIOODDOOGG BBIITTEE BBOOOOKK

DDOONN’’TT LLEETT IINNSSUURRAANNCCEE CCOOMMPPAANNIIEESSGGEETT TTHHEEIIRR TTEEEETTHH IINNTTOO YYOOUU

CHARLES E. BOYK LAW OFFICES, LLC

405 Madison Ave., Suite 1200, Toledo, OH 43604

We also have offices in West Toledo, South Toledo,

Findlay, Bowling Green, and Swanton.

www.charlesboyk-law.com

Copyright © 2008 by Charles E. Boyk, Michael A. Bruno,and Dale R. Emch.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or re-produced in any manner whatsoever without written permis-sion of the author(s).

Printed in the United States of America.

ISBN 978-0-615-21748-2

Charles E. Boyk Law Offices, LLC405 Madison Avenue, Suite 1200Toledo, OH 43604www.charlesboyk-law.com

QUICK HITS

Seek treatment immediately – The best thing youcan do after a dog bite is to seek medical treatmentimmediately and follow your doctor’s orders.

Notify authorities – If you’ve been bitten, contactthe police or county dog warden so the appropriatereports can be made. Also, all bites are required to bereported to the local health department. The dogmust be quarantined for 10 days in order to deter-mine whether it had rabies at the time of the bite.

Don’t rush to settle your claim – Don’t settle yourclaim before you complete your medical treatment.A few thousand dollars may sound good until yourealize it doesn’t come close to compensating youfor your injuries.

Don’t underestimate the insurance adjuster– Insurance adjusters have a huge advantage overyou because they settle claims every day. You needa lawyer to help deal with them.

Don’t provide a statement to the adjuster – Don’tmake any statements about your case until you con-sult with a lawyer.

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THE OHIO DOG BITE BOOK

Don’t sign medical authorization forms – Don’tsign authorization forms that allow an insurancecompany access to your private medical records.Only sign forms completed by your lawyer.

Document everything – Start a file for all police,medical, and insurance documents related to yourcase.

Honesty is the best policy – Be honest about yourinjuries. Nothing will kill your claim fasterthan being caught in a lie.

Don’t hide information from your lawyer – Yourlawyer needs to know the good, the bad, and the uglyabout your case to properly represent you.

Don’t exaggerate your injuries – Exaggerating theextent of your injuries could come back to haunt youif the insurance company films you participating inan activity you shouldn’t be able to do.

Hire a personal injury lawyer – Insurance compa-nies employ professionals who deal with personalinjury cases every day. Shouldn’t you?

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THE OHIO DOG BITE BOOK THE OHIO DOG BITE BOOK

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DOG BITES CAN BEDEVASTATING

The attorneys in our office are all dog lovers.Like most people, we view our dogs as part of thefamily.

But, unfortunately, we often see the devastat-ing consequences that can result from dog bites.We’ve seen injuries ranging from scars our clientswill bear on their faces for the rest of their lives towounds so deep that muscle and ligaments were ex-posed. Obviously the bites and resulting medicaltreatment are painful. But being attacked by a dogalso can be tremendously scary, particularly if thevictim is a child or an elderly person.

In the United States, approximately 800,000people a year suffer injuries from dog bitesthat are significant enough to require med-ical treatment, according the Centers forDisease Control and Prevention. Childrenare particularly vulnerable. Of the dog-bitevictims needing medical attention, half arechildren, the CDC found. Kids between the agesof 5 and 9 years old experienced the most bites, ac-cording to the CDC.

Some bites, while painful, require little re-covery time. Others, though, cause damage tomuscles, broken bones, and serious disfigure-ment. Victims with serious injuries may facenumerous phys ica l therapy sess ions andmultiple surgeries. Children, particularly those

please feel free to give us a call at 419-241-1395 or 800-637-8170. You can also visit ourWeb site at www.charlesboyk-law.com.

WE CAN HELP YOUThe authors of this book have more than 50

years of combined legal experience. Chuck Boykhas been in private practice for 24 years and headsthe Charles E. Boyk Law Offices, LLC. During hiscareer, he has handled thousands of personal injurycases, including countless dog-bite claims. He hasconducted numerous seminars for other attorneys tohelp them understand the world of personal in-jury law. In addition to his personal injury work,Chuck has represented thousands of criminal defen-dants, handling anything from routine traffic of-fenses to murder cases.

Mike Bruno also has been practicing law for24 years. Mike, who has been named an Ohio SuperLawyer, has a unique background that benefits ourclients. As an assistant Lucas County prosecutor, hehandled thousands of felony cases, including deathpenalty murder cases. As an insurance defense at-torney, he handled serious personal injury cases rep-resenting insurance companies. That experience hasprovided him with invaluable insight into how in-surance companies will view our cases. Mike hashandled more than 100 jury trials, is Board Certifiedby the National Board of Trial Advocacy, and isAV rated by Martindale Hubbell, the highestrating an attorney can receive.

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with facial scars, may have to endure a number ofscar-revision surgeries as they grow up.

People who go through the traumatic experi-ence of being bitten by a dog deserve to be fairlycompensated for their medical bills and the painthey’ve suffered. The most likely source for thatcompensation will be the homeowner’s insurancepolicy of the dog owner. And anyone who has dealtwith an insurance company knows that the companywould rather keep the money in its pocket ratherthan put it into yours.

For most people, dealing with an insurancecompany after a dog bite or car accident is a new andunfamiliar experience. That’s why we’ve written thisbook. It’s intended to serve as a reference tool thatcan help you deal with insurance companies and un-derstand the nuances of dog-bite law.

We think this book is necessary becauseyou’re at a natural disadvantage when you dealwith insurance adjusters who handle claims fora living. They do it every day and all day. Inshort, they’re professionals and you’re not. Ithas nothing to do with how smart or successfulyou are in other areas of your life. Insuranceadjusters have the advantage because they set-tle claims for a living. We wrote this book be-cause the attorneys in our office believeknowledge is power. If you have any questionsabout a dog-bite incident in which you, a fam-ily member, or a friend have been injured,


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Dale Emch focuses his practice on personalinjury cases, and has handled a number of the of-fice’s dog-bite claims. He has a special interest indog-bite issues, which led him to testify at an OhioGeneral Assembly committee hearing in favor ofmaintaining the state’s vicious dog law. In addi-tion to practicing law, Dale writes a legal columnfor the Toledo Blade in which he answers readers’questions. He graduated cum laude from theUniversity of Toledo College of Law, where hewas an assoc ia te member and note andcomment editor of Law Review. Dale serves onthe Lucas County Public Defender Commis-sion and the Media Relations Board for theToledo Bar Association.

THIS BOOK DOES NOT OFFERLEGAL ADVICE

We’re happy that you’ve taken time to readour book. You should note, however, that orderingor reading our book does not create an attorney-client relationship. We also aren’t offering legalopinions in these pages because every case isdifferent based on the facts of the s i tuat ion.If you want our legal opinion, please contactus at 800-637-8170 or 419-241-1395. We’ll behappy to set up a free meeting with you.

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STRICT LIABILITY IMPOSED ONDOG OWNERS

The laws and rules governing dog bites inOhio differ from those applied to other injuryclaims. To prove negligence in a normal case – atraffic accident, for instance – the injured person hasto prove that the other driver had a duty not to injurehim; the other driver violated that duty; and that theviolation of that duty caused certain injuries forwhich financial compensation should be awarded.

In a dog-bite case, the victim doesn’t need toshow that the owner or keeper of the dog had a duty,or responsibility, to see that the dog didn’t cause in-jury. In Ohio, the owner, keeper, or harborer of a dogis strictly liable for all injures or damages to propertycaused by the dog. Boiled down, what that means isthat the injured person just needs to show that thedog bite caused injuries and that compensationshould be awarded for medical bills and painand suffering.

Holding the owner, keeper, or harborer of adog strictly liable for any injuries works to theadvantage of the dog-bite victim. It makes thecase much easier to prove and eliminates a lot ofbarriers to holding the dog’s owner responsible.Dog owners have just a few defenses: If the vic-tim was criminally trespassing or attempting totrespass, or was teasing, tormenting, or abusingthe dog.

These rules are drawn from the most relevantstate law for dog-bite cases, namely Ohio RevisedCode 955.28(B). That section of the code says:“The owner, keeper, or harborer of a dogis l iable in damages for any injury, death, orloss to person or property that is caused by thedog, unless the injury, death, or loss wascaused to the person or property of an individ-ual who, at the time, was committing or at-tempting to commit a trespass or othercriminal offense on the property of the owner,keeper, or harborer, or was committing or at-tempting to commit a criminal offense againstany person, or was teasing, tormenting, orabusing the dog on the owner’s, keeper’s, orharborer’s property.”

The statute speaks of owners, keepers, andharborers. The definition of an owner is prettystraightforward, but the terms “keeper” and“harborer” are a bit less clear.

A keeper is a person who maintains sometype of control over the dog, even if only on atemporary basis. So someone who is caring for adog or is in charge of a dog can be termed a keeper.

A harborer is a person who controls the placewhere a dog lives. Someone can be a harborer evenif they simply allow a dog to live in the homewithout protesting its presence. That definitionwould seem to include landlords, but that’s not nec-

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essarily the case. Please see the section below onlandlord liability.

LANDLORDS GENERALLYNOT LIABLE FOR BITES

Compensation for most dog-bite claimscomes from the owner or keeper’s homeowner’sinsurance policy. If the injuries from the bite areserious, most people won’t have the money to paythe victim fair compensation. They need to relyon their insurance to cover the victim’s claims.

This area becomes somewhat muddledwhen the owner or keeper of a dog is a renter,rather than the owner of property. If that personhas rental insurance, the victim may be compensatedfrom that policy. If the dog’s owner doesn’thave renter’s insurance, the dog-bite victim maytry to seek compensation from the landlord. Thoughthere are exceptions, this generally results in a dead end.

In Ohio, landlords generally are not responsiblefor the actions of a tenant’s dog. First of all, to makea landlord liable, it would have to be shown that thelandlord harbored the dog. Almost all of the caselawthat we’ve read says that landlords are not harborersof a dog if the tenant has exclusive possession andcontrol of the property. In most situations, tenantsare deemed to have possession and control of therental property during the lease period.

This equation changes slightly where rentalproperty has a common area such as a shared yard or

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shared hallway. If the bite happens in a commonarea, a landlord might be liable as the harborer ofthe dog.

Some judges have found, however, that if alandlord knew a tenant’s dog was vicious and stillallowed the dog to remain at the property, thelandlord can be held liable for any injuries causedby a dog bite.

DOG-BITE VICTIMS HAVE6 YEARS TO FILE LAWSUIT

In any injury case, the victim has a limitedtimeframe in which to file a lawsuit or the claim willbe lost forever. Dog-bite cases are no different, butthe timeframe is longer. A dog-bite victim has sixyears from the date of the bite to bring a lawsuit, asopposed to the two-year period people have ifthey’ve been injured in a traffic accident. This pe-riod is called the statute of limitations.

This extended period to bring a claim allowspeople a better opportunity to fully recover beforethey must bring a lawsuit. Dog-bite injuries oftentake a long time to resolve, particularly if scar-revision surgery becomes necessary.

Children have an even longer period in whichto file a lawsuit in a dog-bite case. A child who isbitten by a dog has six years past the age of majorityto bring a claim, which means six years past their18th birthday. The extended period works to theadvantage of a child who was bitten by a dog. Child

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victims of dog bites often are left with scars on theirfaces or necks. Because they’re still growing, theysometimes have to go through a number of surgeriesover a period of years to repair their scars.

PIT BULLS CONSIDEREDVICIOUS DOGS

Any attacking dog can be dangerous andscary, but pit bulls seem to create a greaterrisk of serious injuries. The attorneys in our officehave found that a disproportionate number of ourcases involve pit bulls.

Under Ohio law, pit bulls are presumedto be vicious and are governed by specific rules.Some of the rules include keeping the dog in alocked pen with an enclosed top, keeping the dogbehind a locked fence, walking the dog with achain-linked leash, and carrying special insuranceto ensure that there’s an adequate amount ofmoney available to compensate the victim of a pitbull bite.

In most large cities in Ohio, pit bulls have be-come an increasing problem. In Toledo, where ourmain office is based, Lucas County Dog WardenTom Skeldon has seen the number of seized pit bullsincrease from 50 in 1993 to 1,354 in 2007.Mr. Skeldon said those numbers are repre-senta t ive of the increases of se ized p i tbul ls nat ionwide.

Mr. Skeldon has been a champion of trying


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to control the pit bull population in Lucas Countyand across the state. He’s witnessed the seriousinjuries pit bulls can cause because they’vebeen bred to bite and hold, while most dogssimply bite and release.

Pit bull advocates, though, continue to try tostrip away the protections built into state lawbecause they feel the dogs have been unfairlytargeted. The attorneys in our office remaincommitted to maintaining the laws regulatingpit bul l ownership because we’ve seen thedevastating injuries caused by pit bull attacks.Attorney Dale Emch, from our office, feltstrongly enough about the issue that he teamedup with Mr. Skeldon and dog wardens across thestate in resisting a proposed change to state law thatwould have stopped pit bulls from being labeled asvicious dogs. Here’s a copy of the testimony Mr.Emch gave to an Ohio House of Representatives’committee that was considering the change:

Dale Emch’s testimony“Chairman Reinhard, thank you for

al lowing me to address this commit tee onthis controvers ia l and important i ssue . Iam test i fy ing in opposi t ion to House Bi l l366 because I think i t would be a mistakenot to keep pit bulls labeled as vicious dogs underthe state law. The law provides dog wardens like TomSkeldon in Lucas County and law enforcement offi-


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cials throughout the state with a powerful tool toregulate ownership of dogs that have the ability, andapparently the propensity, to cause tremendousharm to people.

“I’m here today as an attorney who has dealtwith the types of injuries pit bulls can cause injust a matter of seconds. In our Toledo law office,nine of the 23 dog bite cases we’re handling involvepit bulls. That’s 39 percent, which strikes me asbeing disproportionately high when you considerhow many different breeds of dogs there are in ourstate. I recognize this is a such a small sam-pling that it is statistically meaningless in thebroader context of this discussion, but it givesyou at least a glimpse of what we’re seeing. I’ll leaveit to Mr. Skeldon and his colleagues to provide thestatistical information this committee needs toevaluate whether pit bulls should remain labeledas vicious dogs.

“I’d like to provide you with some evidenceof just how much damage these dogs can do. In thethree cases I’ll discuss, it’s worth noting thatnone of the attacks were provoked, nor is there anyevidence that these dogs were trained to fight or thatthey were owned by gang members. Somethingtripped their switch and they attacked.

“In the first case, my client is Samantha, a 2-year-old who was being pushed in a stroller by herparents through her neighborhood when a pit bulljumped its fence, ran directly to her, and bit her

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on the forehead leaving a significant scar. I’ddirect you to Exhibit A, to see a picture of Samantha’sinjuries. As you can see, she’s fortunate the dog didn’tinjure her eye. She’ll likely have a scar on her face forthe rest of her life and she faces the possibility of atleast one scar-revision surgery. Had this pit bull beenconfined in a pen with a top on it as required by statelaw, Samantha would not have been bitten.

“In the second case, my client Steve entered ahome where he had done some remodeling work. Hehad been talking to his former supervisor for sometime when a pit bull owned by his former bosssuddenly attacked him, doing severe damage tohis arm. I warn you in advance that Exhibit B is agraphic example of the types of deep wounds pitbulls can cause. The exhibit shows why Steve was inthe hospital for three days and why it’s almost acertainty that he’ll need plastic surgery to repairhis arm.

“Finally, in the third case, my client Leonard,82 at the time of the attack, found himself sur-rounded by three dogs when he was taking out hisgarbage. He was alone and terrified that the dogswould knock him to the ground. Of the three dogs,only the pit bull attacked him, leaving puncturewounds in his legs that later became infected.He’s fortunate that a neighbor heard his screamsand came to his rescue. Leonard’s injuries are shownin Exhibit C.

“In each of these cases, my clients would not

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have been injured had the pit bulls been properlyconfined as state law mandates. So, obviously, thelaw can be broken and I’m sure it is routinely. ButI’m also convinced that the law has prompted manypit bull owners to buy the proper insurance, confinetheir dogs appropriately, and walk them onleashes sturdy enough to hold them if theylunge at someone.

“I urge you both as a lawyer and a citizen tokeep this bill from passing out of your commit-tee. The General Assembly already has spokenon this issue and there seems to be no compellingreason to change a law that has the potential to keeppeople from suffering the types of injuries sustainedby my clients. Thank you again for the opportunity toaddress the committee.”

It appears that the proposed bill that wouldhave stripped pit bulls from the vicious dogdefinition has been killed. Nonetheless, we remaincommitted to working with Mr. Skeldon and otherdog wardens to maintain laws designed to protectpeople from the devastating consequences that canbe caused by pit bull attacks.

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TIPS TO MAXIMIZEYOUR RECOVERY

If you’ve been injured by a dog bite, theinitial steps you take can make a big difference tothe outcome of your case. We’ve compiled some tipsto help you avoid insurance company traps andreceive fair compensation for your injury.

Seek treatment immediately.The best thing you can do for both your

physical and financial health is to get the propermedical treatment for your injuries. This isn’t atime to tough it out and hope that you’ll miracu-lously heal. Returning to health should be your toppriority. You need to go to your family physician orto the emergency room to make sure that you get thetreatment you’ll need to recover from the injuriesyou suffered from the dog bite.

Once you go to the doctor, follow his or herorders so you can make the best recovery pos-sible. If your doctor tells you to go to a phys-ical therapist or a plastic surgeon, do it.

This makes sense not only for your physicalhealth, but for your financial health as well. Aninsurance adjuster is going to base any settlementoffer to you on the medical care you’ve receivedbecause it provides a way to measure your injuriesand resulting pain. Getting treatment demonstratesto the insurance company that you’re not faking

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your injury and that you’re taking the processseriously. Compensation for the pain andsuffering you’ve endured as a result of thedog bite will be based to some degree on theamount of your medical bills.

Once you’ve started treatment, see itthrough to the end. Don’t stop the second youstart to feel better if your doctor has recommendedthat you complete a certain amount of rehabilitation.If you stop early, you may not be fully healed.Resuming treatment months after you’ve stoppedsends a message to the insurance company thatyou may not have been hurt in the first place or thatyou’re trying to take advantage of the process.

Don’t rush to settle your claim quickly.If you’re reading this book because you

were recently bitten by a dog, you may alreadyhave received a call from an insurance adjustertrying to settle your claim. Typically, an adjusterwill wave a small amount of money under yournose to settle the claim quickly. It sounds good untilyou realize you’re hurt more seriously than youinitially thought or your medical bills end upeating into that money.

If you’re tempted to settle your case below itsvalue just because you need money for your med-ical bills, hold off. If you hire an attorney, the attor-ney usually will be able to work out an arrangementwith your health-care provider for your provider to


be paid out of the proceeds of your settlement. Thedoctor or physical therapist will continue to treat youwithout requiring payment after receiving what’scalled a “letter of protection” from your lawyer. Thisallows you to continue getting the treatment that youneed, while ensuring the doctor is paid at the end ofyour case.

Settling your case quickly doesn’t allow youto be fully compensated for your medical bills,pain and suffering, and lost wages. It only bene-fits the insurance company because it won’t haveto pay out the full value of your case.

Don’t underestimate the insuranceadjusters who contact you.

This tip goes back to what we discussed in theintroduction. Insurance adjusters handle claims for aliving. They’re judged by their bosses by how theysettle claims and how much money they save for thecompany. This doesn’t make them bad people;they’re just doing their jobs and looking out forthe best interests of their employers. It’s up toyou and your lawyer to look out for your interests.

It’s no shock that insurance companies oftenown the tallest skyscrapers in a city. They havepowerful lobbies throughout the country and, alongwith other business interests, have done their best toget legislation passed that makes it hard for dog-bitevictims to be fairly compensated. They’ve gottenrich by collecting as much money as possible from

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all of us while trying to avoid making fair settle-ments with people suffering from dog bites.

So, when an adjuster representing the personwho owned or kept the dog gives you a call, keep inmind where their loyalties lie. They’ll likely be ex-tremely pleasant, but they have one goal: to settle yourclaim as cheaply as possible. They do this for a living,all day and every day. Because this is probably thefirst time you’ve been seriously injured by a dogbite, you are at an obvious disadvantage. Be smartwhen you’re dealing with them – or better yet, hirea lawyer who deals with insurance companies on adaily basis. After all, the insurance companies haveprofessionals working for them, so you should too.

Don’t provide a statement to the adjuster.If an insurance adjuster contacts you, don’t

make any statements about the dog bite, your phys-ical condition, and whether you’re being treating bya doctor. The adjuster may be recording your con-versation and certainly will be taking notes. Anystatements you make about your injuries could comeback to haunt you. Simply thank the adjuster forcalling, tell her that you don’t want to make anystatements, and that you don’t want her to callback. Tell the adjuster you’ll initiate a conver-sation when you’re ready. You don’t have to be rude,but you need to be firm. The adjuster can’t make you talk.

It’s a foreign concept to most people, butyou have to view your injury case with the idea

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that it could go to trial. Most cases don’t, but youdon’t want to hinder your negotiating strength bymaking a statement to an adjuster that can be mis-construed or twisted. The concern about making astatement is that you may not know the extent ofyour injuries right after you’ve been bitten.It’s not uncommon for people to receive moremedical treatment than they initially thought wasnecessary, especially if the bite becomes infectedor if plastic surgery is required.

One way to avoid awkward conversationswith an adjuster or making statements that couldhurt your case is to contact a lawyer to representyou. Your lawyer will stop the adjuster from havingany further contact with you.

Don’t sign any medical authorization forms at the request of an insurance company.

Insurance companies often try to get dog-bitevictims to sign authorization forms that allow accessto their medical records. The forms usually aredrafted so the insurer gains access to all of your med-ical information, not just information relating to thedog bite. It allows an insurance company to go on afishing expedition for any other medical problems thatmight explain the pain you’re experiencing.

If your injuries are serious, you should con-sult an attorney to deal with these issues. Your at-torney will ask you to sign medical authorizationforms that will be used to obtain the information


that’s related to your dog bite. Only the informationrelevant to your case will be sent to the insurancecompany so your claim can be evaluated. Thisprotects you from having personal informationwinding up in the wrong hands.

Start a file to document everything connected to your case.

Make sure you keep every bill, police report,dog warden report, and document connected toyour claim. The insurance company has a right tosee evidence of medical bills for which you’reseeking reimbursement. Keeping track of yourbills also ensures that you won’t settle your claimwithout making sure you’ve been compensated forall of your expenditures. This is true even if youhave health insurance because you may have torepay your provider for any bills they’ve paid onyour behalf if there’s a settlement.

In addition to documenting your treatment,keep track of any wages you’ve lost because you’vebeen unable to work. Don’t assume you’ll automat-ically get reimbursed for your lost wages. You haveto get a note from your doctor if you miss work be-cause of the injuries from the dog bite and you’llhave to get documentation from your employerabout your rate of pay and how much money youlost because you weren’t able to work.

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Honesty is the best policy.Be honest when it comes to dealing with your

injury claim. Be honest with the insurance adjuster,be honest with your doctor, and be honest with yourlawyer. Nothing will kill your claim faster than beingcaught in a lie. Your credibility will be crucial in resolvingyour case, particularly if you have to go to trial.

If you’re not in pain, don’t get unnecessarymedical treatment to drive up your bills. That does-n’t mean you shouldn’t follow your doctor’s orders,but don’t exaggerate the extent of your injuries. Thetruth eventually will come out, and when it doesyour case might become worthless. If your case goesto trial, your credibility with the jury carries tremen-dous value. If jurors feel you’re not being honest, theywon’t give you the fair compensation you deserve.

You also have to be straight with your lawyer,who won’t handle your case if he thinks you’relying. The attorney needs to know what’s reallyhappening with your case in order to representyou fairly and aggressively.

Don’t hide information from your lawyer.This tip goes hand-in-hand with our advice

about being honest. You’ll be making a big mistakeif you hide information that is embarrassing or thatyou think will hurt your claim. You may get awaywith it, but usually the truth comes out. And if itcomes out at the wrong time in a deposition orat trial, your case may be damaged beyond re-

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pair. Your lawyer can only help you if she has thecomplete picture. If there’s something awkward tobe dealt with, he’ll handle it. But don’t put yourlawyer in a bad situation by hiding something.

Don’t exaggerate the impact of your injury.

You’re entering a world you likely didn’tknow existed. As we’ve said earlier in this book,insurance companies prosper by paying dog-bitevictims as little as possible. In an effort to do that,they’ll resort to what you may regard as underhandedbehavior. They may hire a private investigator to spyon you, they may have someone engage you inconversation about your injuries, or they may video-tape you as you go about your day.

We know of one case – fortunately not one ofours – where an insurance company investigatorplaced a video camera in a gym bag to record asupposedly injured accident victim teaching anaerobics class. Needless to say, the attorney handlingthat case dumped it immediately – and should have.People like that aerobics instructor give insur-ance companies reason to be skeptical. Theproblem is they seem to be skept ica l o feveryone , even people wi th leg i t imateclaims.

So, simply be honest. Don’t play games whenit comes to dealing with your dog-bite case.


Hire an attorney who devotes his practice topersonal injury cases.

Earlier, we wrote about insurance adjusterswho negotiate settlements every day. They’regood at it because it’s their profession. That’swhy you’ll need a lawyer to handle your case.Your lawyer not only will deal with the insuranceadjuster, but he’ll navigate you through the com-plex world of dog-bite litigation.

Armed with knowledge of the law and theploys of adjusters, a lawyer can help you obtaina fair settlement for your case. Numerous studieshave shown that you’re far more likely to end upwith more money at the end of a case if you hire alawyer rather than trying to settle the case on yourown. By virtue of handling injury cases every day,lawyers develop a sense of how much a case isworth.

Furthermore, you’re not likely to have expe-rience with the types of arguments you’re going tohear from insurance adjusters. Hiring a lawyerlessens the amount of hassles you’ll face andincreases the chance of a better result, evenafter attorney fees and expenses are sub-tracted.

Plastic surgery is sometimes necessaryfor serious bites

Children suffer the majority of dog bites andyoung children tend to be bitten on their heads,

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faces, and necks. These types of injuries oftenrequire treatment by a plastic surgeon. Some-times a number of surgeries are required overa period of years as a child grows.

If you or your child has suffered a disfigur-ing bite, consult a plastic surgeon early in theprocess so the damage and scarring can be mini-mized to the extent possible. Ask your attorney oryour family practice doctor who the top plasticsurgeons are in town. Finding a skilled surgeonobviously is crucial, but it’s also important to find adoctor who will be willing to document the injuriesand produce a report that can be used in negotiatingyour claim.

Take photos to document injuriesIt’s cliché, but a picture really is worth a thou-

sand words sometimes, especially for dog-bite in-juries. Take photographs of all the injuries causedby a dog bite as soon as possible. In our office, wehave the client take photos and then we usuallyhire a professional photographer to take additionalshots. Periodically throughout the treatment, we’llhave additional photos taken to document the statusof the injuries.

In addition to photos of the injuries, it alsowould be wise to get photos of the scene. Photosoften play a key role in any settlement discussionswith an insurance adjuster. They also serve as cru-cial evidence if the case has to go to trial.


Gather witness statements anddog warden reports

All dog bites should be reported to thecounty dog warden and local health department.The dog warden will conduct an investigation,prepare a report, and possibly cite the owneror keeper of the dog. Sometimes police officers willconduct their own investigation. Dog-bite victimsshould collect these reports and file them away in asafe place. If you hire an attorney, the attorney cangather the reports for you and will use them asevidence for your claim.

In addition to collecting reports, try totake statements from everyone who witnessedthe bite. Make sure you get the names, addresses,and phone numbers for all potential witnesses in theevent the case has to go to trial.

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YOUR LAWYER DOESN’T GETPAID UNLESS YOU DO

People are understandably nervous about hiringa lawyer. Fear that it will cost too much money stopssome from consulting an attorney, especiallywhen expenses may be adding up as a result of arecent dog-bite injury. Dog-bite victims, however,don’t pay their lawyer anything unless a settlementis reached or they win in a trial.

Most attorneys who represent accidentvictims take what’s called a contingent fee,which means that the lawyer’s fee depends onhis success in resolving the case. If you winyour case or get a settlement, the lawyer takes afee. If you lose at trial or the insurance companywon’t settle, you don’t get anything, but you typicallywon’t owe the lawyer a fee. Usually, the lawyertakes one-third of the gross award or settlement. Thearrangement works for both parties. The lawyertakes a risk that he’ll never get paid if the casebombs. The client gets to pursue his claim withouthaving to come up with thousands of dollars in legalfees. Without this arrangement, some people neverwould be able to bring a claim because theycouldn’t afford it.

Trying cases can be costly because ofthe numerous expenses involved. Court reportershave to be hired to take depositions, those depo-sitions must be transcribed, medical records haveto be ordered, expert witnesses such as doctors


have to be consulted, exhibits have to be compiled,and court costs have to be paid. The attorney usu-ally will cover those expenses because most peo-ple couldn’t come up with that much money. Ifthe case settles or the client wins at trial, thelawyer is reimbursed for the expenses he incurredin handling the case. Again, this arrangement ben-efits the client. Our firm handled one personalinjury case where the expenses alone were in theneighborhood of $100,000. If we hadn’t paid forthose expenses, our client never would havebeen able to pursue his claim even though hehad an excellent case.

When you meet with a lawyer, you willhave to sign an agreement that spells out how theattorney will be compensated and how the expenseswill be paid. Make sure that the contingency feearrangement – typically 33 1/3 percent of thegross settlement or award – is clearly spelled outin the contract. If you don’t feel comfortable withthe contract, don’t sign it. You’re in control of thesituation. If you have questions, make sure thelawyer answers before you sign the document.You can walk away after the case starts, but thelawyer will be entitled to get paid for the timeand expenses he’s incurred out of whatever set-tlement another lawyer obtains for you.

When the case is resolved, you will get acheck that represents the award or settlement,minus the attorney’s fee and expenses.

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ATTORNEYS KNOW HOW TONAVIGATE THE LEGALPROCESS

In all but the most straightforward of dog-biteinjuries, these cases can become very complicatedeven for attorneys who handle these issues everyday. Dealing with insurance adjusters, health-careinsurers, doctors, and attorneys representingthe insurance company can make resolving adog-bite claim a long, frustrat ing journey.Hir ing a lawyer to he lp you obta in fa i rcompensation makes sense unless you’ve beeninvolved in a very minor dog-bite incident.

If you hire a lawyer, he has a few optionswhen trying to resolve your case. Some lawyersfile a lawsuit immediately, which has the benefit ofputting you quickly on a trial track. The other paththe attorney might take is negotiating with the in-surance adjuster to resolve the case without havingto file a lawsuit. Most attorneys, including thosein our office, prefer the second approach.

Lawsuits are time-consuming, expen-sive, and unpredictable. The benefit of settlinga claim with the adjuster is that the client gets com-pensated sooner and has a certain outcome. We only filesuits quickly if the adjuster makes an unfair offer thatwe know isn’t going to get any better or if the statuteof limitations is about to expire.

Even with our approach, you shouldn’t expecta quick settlement. As we stated earlier, we think it’s

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best for the client to follow a doctor’s treatment plan– even if it takes more than a year – rather than settling thecase prematurely. This benefits the client’s health and case.Ultimately, your settlement or verdict will be based to somedegree on the cost and length of your treatment.

Sometimes going to trial becomes the onlyoption. When you’re looking for a lawyer, makesure you hire someone who is willing to trycases if necessary. It can take a long time toget to trial, but it may offer your best chanceof getting fair compensation for your injury. If youhave to go to trial, be prepared for a long wait be-cause judges have to juggle numerous criminal andcivil cases. It’s not unusual for a trial date to be setanywhere from six months to a year after thecomplaint is filed.

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CONCLUSIONWe hope this book serves as a helpful

reference tool for understanding dog-bitecases. Though the process can be long andcomplicated, an attorney can guide youthrough this journey. When picking an attorneyfor your case, select someone who handles alot of personal injury cases, including dog-bitecases. Personal injury lawyers deal with thelegal issues specific to this field of law on adaily basis.

If you think we can help you with your case,please call us at 419-241-1395 or 800-637-8170. Areceptionist will gather some information andconnect you with a lawyer. Calls that come intoour office after hours are forwarded to a lawyer. Tolearn more about our firm, visit our Web site atwww.charlesboyk-law.com.

We’ll schedule a free consultation with youand give you our professional opinion aboutwhether or not we can help you. You can alsoorder one of our other books: The Ohio AccidentBook or The Ohio Work Injury Book. We have sixoffices in northwest Ohio where we can meet withyou to discuss your situation. And, if we decideto work together, you can rest assured thatwe’ll fight to get the best result for your case.

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