Eight Steps to Take When You or Your Child Are Bit By a Dog

Did you know that dogs bite over four million people each year, many of these being young children?  Even though dogs make cozy and furry companions, you will still want to take precautions to avoid aggression in any animal.  If this danger is ignored, dog bites can occur and cause serious injuries, especially in babies and small children.  If you or your loved one have suffered from a dog bite that required you to seek medical treatment, you'll want to hire a personal injury attorney in Miami, FL to help you with your case.  There are a few steps you'll need to take when you or your child are bit by a dog.

Remain Calm

When you are bit by a dog, your first instinct may be to overreact or even yell at the animal.  However, try to remain calm.  Anytime you are around an animal, you should always try to stay as calm as possible.  Outrage and anger can cause the dog to continue with their aggressive behavior.  Overreacting in front of the dog can cause much more harm than good, which can result in additional stress or injuries.

Seek Medical Treatment

After you suffer from a bit, you will first want to administer first aid to the wound.  Stop the bleeding and prevent infection with over-the-counter medications in your first aid kit.  As you are administering first aid, you will want to contact your doctor to tell them about the incident.  You will want to schedule a visit with them so they can assess the wound.  If the wound is severe and deep, you may want to seek immediate medical treatment and head to your local emergency room.  It is important to document the wound by seeking medical treatment or taking pictures should you choose to file a lawsuit.

Call Animal Control

If you have been bit by a stray dog, you will want to call animal control immediately.  This will prevent the dog from biting others, and it will also get the dog off the streets.  Animals that are dangerous should be taken into the hands of professionals so they can locate their owners or provide proper security for them.

Seek Information about the Dog

If you can, find out as much information about the dog as you possibly can.  It is especially important to determine whether the dog is up-to-date on their vaccinations.  If you cannot locate this information, you may need to start painful rabies vaccinations as a precaution.  Often times, stray dogs may be carriers, and this is a dangerous risk to your health.  Determining whether the dog has vaccinations will inform you on the type of medical treatment you need to get and the urgency at which you need to get it.

File a Report

If your wound is severe, painful, or requires expensive medical treatment, you may want to consider filing a lawsuit.  Also, if you believe the dog is threat to others or the rest of the community, you may want to file a lawsuit.  When you decide it's time to file a lawsuit, you'll want to file a report with the police to document the incident first.  This will alert the community of the dog so that it can be dealt with by the authorities.  It will also create a paper trail that will aide in your lawsuit.

Determine the Cause

If you have been bitten by your own dog, take the time to determine the cause of the incident.  Was this the result of being overstimulated or frightened?  Did your children harm the dog in some way first?  The cause may not be easy to determine, but you should try to solve this so that you can prevent it from happening in the future.  Discipline your animal so that it learns that this action is not acceptable.  

Contact an Attorney

When you choose to file a lawsuit to recoup compensation for pain and suffering or medical expenses, you will want to hire a personal injury attorney in Miami, FL to assist with your lawsuit.  Our team of experienced attorneys is knowledgeable about how to properly proceed with cases involving dog bites, as we have worked on many of these cases in the past.  We can help you with your legal concerns and properly address the matter in the courts so that you can receive the compensation you need to move on with your life.

Learn How to Cope

If you or your child has suffered from a vicious dog bite, you may be scared or threatened by dogs for many years, despite how kind those other dogs may be.  Seek therapy if your fear becomes too much to handle, and be sure to talk about these feelings with your trusted loved ones.  Learning how to cope with this situation is also critical for your mental well-being, so you'll want to have a community of people who understand what you've gone through.

These are some of the steps you'll want to take quickly after being bit by a dog.  When you assume that a neighbor's dog is harmless, you may be putting yourself and your child at risk.  Always be sure to take precautions anytime you are approaching a strange animal, even if they look harmless, cute, or cuddly.  Dog owners should also take the precautions to keep their dog from roaming free or getting loose from their yard, which can result in aggressive or territorial behavior.  If you happen to suffer from a dog bite, you may want to consider filing a lawsuit for medical compensation.  Contact our quality personal injury attorney in Miami, FL to have the best advocates and legal support today.