Dog attack victims suffer from injuries other than broken bones. Even after corrective surgery, they frequently sustain scars and lacerations that permanently change the way their bodies feel and look. These cases highlight some of the compensation that plaintiffs with similar claims were able to receive.
The goal of Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC is to obtain the best possible settlement for Illinois residents who have been bitten or attacked by dogs. If a dog attack left a scar on you or your child, you may be entitled to significant compensation. For a free consultation to discuss your legal rights, get in touch with our office.
Due to the breed’s history of aggression, the dog in this instance has earned the reputation. In the yard, a 12-year-old girl was playing with a friend when a pit bull barged in and attacked her. She was bit by the dog multiple times, leaving her body covered in numerous permanent scars.
The plaintiff’s family filed a lawsuit against the dog’s owner, alleging that the dog violated all applicable provisions of the Illinois Animal Control Act and that the owners were aware of the dog’s dangerous tendencies but did not make others aware of them.
These claims were categorically refuted by the defendant, who responded by claiming that the kids provoked the dog by throwing toys at it. This case did not go to trial. Both sides settled out of court for $290,000.
In this instance, a father took his 3-year-old son, Ian, to work so that he could demonstrate his line of work to him. Instead, the dog of a coworker charged at the kid and bit his cheek and nose.
Surgery was eventually needed to treat the attack’s visible scars, but it was probably not possible to completely repair the damage. According to the Animal Control Act, the child’s parents claimed that the dog’s owner failed to keep the animal on a leash while in public despite knowing that it had dangerous tendencies.
The defendant responded that the attack occurred because the dog was provoked and the child was not authorized to be on the property at the time. Evidently, both parties decided that settling out of court for $17,000 was in the child’s best interests.
In this instance, a resident of an apartment building claimed that the owner’s dog attacked him, but the owner insisted that the opposite was true. The victim’s version of events claims that as he was leaving the building, a dog belonging to the building’s owner suddenly attacked him and left him with physical scars.
The building’s owner claimed that the dog actually belonged to someone else, and that he had only caged it that day while searching for its rightful owner. Additionally, he asserted that the dog’s attack was a defensive one and that the victim actually provoked the animal. The following items were given to the victim-turned-plaintiff for $300,000 by the jury:
Kong, the dog responsible for this attack, certainly lived up to its name. It attacked a 15-year-old boy one day as he was walking home from school with some friends. The dog lunged at the boy as he was riding his bike, dragged him to the ground, and then attacked him viciously, biting him and doing other harm.
The youngster was taken to the hospital right away, where he had to remain for roughly a week to recover from the incident. He sustained significant scarring and disfigurement as a result of the attack, and his medical expenses exceeded $150,000. In accordance with the Illinois Animal Control Act, the guardians of the child filed a lawsuit against the dog’s owner.
The boy was attacked by the owner’s dog in a location where he had a legal right to be, according to the lawsuit, and he did not provoke the dog in any way. The complaint also claimed that the owner had not sufficiently repaired his fence to keep the dog on his property. The defendant denied these claims and the severity of the plaintiff’s injuries, but this did not prevent him from consenting to a $1,125,000 settlement.
The plaintiffs began this very intriguing case by looking for a dog to buy online. They made their selection of a golden retriever using the defendant’s website after learning that the dog had a very outgoing personality.
The dog was aggressive in its cage while awaiting a new owner and had previously attacked and bit another child, which the defendants failed to disclose to the buyers. Without knowing this, the plaintiffs bought the dog and brought it home, where it viciously attacked their young daughter. She was disfigured and left with numerous scars on her face, shoulders, and arms as a result of the incident.
The plaintiffs in the subsequent lawsuit asserted a number of violations of the Illinois Animal Control Act, breaches of express and implied warranties, and general obligations to refrain from negligence. The defendants did not claim that they were responsible for the child’s injuries at trial, but they did dispute how severe they were. The jury determined that her damages fell into the following categories, totaling $230,000:
In this tragic incident, a couple was watching an 11-month-old boy when their dog charged up and bit the child. He sustained facial bruises and permanent scarring as a result of the attack.
The child’s parents filed a lawsuit against the couple for failing to adequately supervise the dog and failing to alert them to its dangerous nature and tendencies.
Both these allegations and the severity of the plaintiffs’ alleged injuries were refuted by the defendants. But in the face of a sympathetic jury and a battered child, they decided to settle instead of go to trial and came to a $55,000 agreement with the plaintiffs.
This incident took place in a backyard in a small town in western Illinois. A dog approached a 9-year-old as he was strolling through another person’s yard and bit him. He consequently received numerous bruises and scars all over his face.
He filed a lawsuit against the dog’s owner for failing to control the animal and failing to alert him to its potentially harmful behavior. The defendant responded by arguing that the boy was partially at fault for failing to keep a better eye on things, that he was trespassing, and that this trespass had provoked the dog. Both parties came to a rather meager settlement agreement ($16,000), especially when compared to the boy’s severe injuries and associated expenses, perhaps as a result of these potent counterarguments.
The goal of Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC is to assist people in obtaining compensation for the scarring wounds they sustained as a result of a dog bite attack. Our attorneys have pursued financial compensation for scarring brought on by dog bites and clawing on behalf of men, women, and children. Despite the fact that the majority of our clients come from Illinois and the entire midwest, our office is located in Chicago. For a free case review of your dog bite scarring case, get in touch with us.
Discover the details of your case from an accomplished lawyer who co-wrote the book on Dog Bites & Attacks.
What types of compensation are available?
The compensation available to victims of a dog bite is not limited to their medical bills, despite what insurance companies will claim. Instead, personal injury law entitles victims to compensation for:
Dog bite victims in rare instances where the dog owner acted maliciously may also be entitled to punitive damages.
The victims deserve to be compensated for all losses because the animal attack is to blame for them all. Settlements typically represent a forecast of the amount of compensation that the victim can expect, if he or she took their case to trial because victims can receive these legal damages in a verdict.
How Much Can I Sue for a Dog Bite?
Not every dog attack case will result in serious injuries or significant financial losses. Typically, larger monetary awards occur if an animal attack:
For a severe but typical dog bite injury, people can typically anticipate paying around $40,000, but it all depends on the specific injuries and monetary losses sustained. The majority of the time, an injury settlement or award will cover a victim’s medical costs, out-of-pocket expenses, lost wages, and other consequential damages.
If a person receives a settlement that covers paying medical bills, they might have to reimburse their health insurance provider or settle any unpaid medical bills. The majority of the proceeds will be used to pay for these medical expenses.
States with highest average dog bite claim
| Rank | State | Average Cost per Claim | Number of Claims | Total Claim Payout (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York | $55,800.00 | 893 | 49.83 |
| 2 | New Hampshire | $54,141.89 | 98 | 5.31 |
| 3 | Florida | $53,603.49 | 1268 | 67.97 |
| 4 | Vermont | $52,761.00 | 34 | 1.79 |
| 5 | Arkansas | $52,550.71 | 137 | 7.2 |
| 6 | Oklahoma | $52,147.67 | 229 | 11.94 |
| 7 | Hawaii | $51,498.08 | 62 | 3.19 |
| 8 | California | $51,264.60 | 2396 | 122.83 |
| 9 | Montana | $50,395.90 | 56 | 2.82 |
| 10 | Maryland | $48,642.39 | 290 | 14.11 |
| 11 | Connecticut | $48,550.07 | 304 | 14.76 |
| 12 | Nebraska | $48,422.06 | 115 | 5.57 |
| 13 | Illinois | $48,098.32 | 854 | 41.08 |
| 14 | Georgia | $47,968.24 | 497 | 23.84 |
| 15 | New Jersey | $47,868.74 | 699 | 33.46 |
| 16 | Missouri | $47,411.19 | 355 | 16.83 |
| 17 | Alaska | $47,237.36 | 31 | 1.46 |
| 18 | Iowa | $45,981.43 | 136 | 6.25 |
| 19 | Arizona | $45,811.22 | 410 | 18.78 |
| 20 | Nevada | $44,904.00 | 169 | 7.59 |
| 21 | West Virginia | $44,772.28 | 71 | 3.18 |
| 22 | South Carolina | $44,661.46 | 307 | 13.71 |
| 23 | North Dakota | $44,166.40 | 35 | 1.55 |
| 24 | Wisconsin | $43,593.04 | 285 | 12.42 |
| 25 | Massachusetts | $43,567.80 | 420 | 18.3 |
| 26 | Rhode Island | $43,567.80 | 72 | 3.14 |
| 27 | Alabama | $43,225.00 | 234 | 10.11 |
| 28 | Wyoming | $42,938.19 | 37 | 1.59 |
| 29 | Michigan | $42,832.83 | 740 | 37.7 |
| 30 | Mississippi | $42,520.78 | 142 | 6.04 |
| 31 | South Dakota | $41,282.45 | 43 | 1.78 |
| 32 | Kentucky | $41,236.00 | 201 | 8.29 |
| 33 | Indiana | $41,178.91 | 326 | 13.42 |
| 34 | Texas | $40,853.70 | 937 | 38.28 |
| 35 | New Mexico | $40,080.34 | 96 | 3.85 |
| 36 | Louisiana | $39,654.00 | 271 | 10.75 |
| 37 | Maine | $39,123.57 | 73 | 2.86 |
| 38 | Tennessee | $38,428.64 | 292 | 11.22 |
| 39 | Minnesota | $38,362.05 | 367 | 14.08 |
| 40 | Colorado | $37,981.88 | 379 | 14.4 |
| 41 | Idaho | $37,877.77 | 185 | 2.8 |
| 42 | Washington | $37,680.79 | 425 | 16.01 |
| 43 | Oregon | $37,223.18 | 185 | 6.89 |
| 44 | Delaware | $36,684.70 | 58 | 2.13 |
| 45 | North Carolina | $35,815.87 | 419 | 15.01 |
| 46 | Pennsylvania | $35,561.00 | 807 | 28.7 |
| 47 | Utah | $34,548.94 | 127 | 4.39 |
| 48 | Kansas | $34,424.46 | 192 | 6.61 |
| 49 | Virginia | $31,976.72 | 363 | 11.61 |
| 50 | Ohio | $31,779.36 | 764 | 24.28 |
FAQ
How long does it take to get money from a dog bite?
Making a Claim After a Dog Bite Injury Bear in mind that dog bite cases almost always settle outside of court and typically take less than six months to resolve. Your dog bite attorney can assist you in determining what to say to the dog’s owner.
How much can I claim for a dog bite UK?
According to historical cases, dog injuries received the following compensation: Minor hand injuries: up to £4,500 Loss of part of a finger: up to £7,400. Serious hand injuries: up to £58,000.
How much money can you get from a Level 4 dog bite?
Examples of level 4 dog bite settlements are provided below. According to these examples, the average level 4 dog bite settlement ranges from $125,000 to $512,000 There is no precise average settlement amount for level 4 dog bites because settlements are highly dependent on the particulars of each case.
How do you negotiate a dog bite claim?
- Seek Immediate Medical Attention.
- Report the Dog Bite to Local Authorities.
- Find Out About the Dog Owner.
- Check Your Local Dog Bite Laws.
- Collect Evidence to Support Your Claim.
- Know What Your Claim is Worth.
- Watch What You Say to the Adjuster.