Dear Dog Bite Attorney,
I work as a home health nurse in Winchester, KY. One of my new patients is an older man. He lives with his wife and their dog. The dog is protective of the man, always by his bedside. He growls at everyone who walks up to him.
About a week ago, I was bit badly by my client’s pit bull on my hard. I’ve never been bitten by a dog before but it was frightening and traumatic, to say the least. I have a dog myself and we all concluded that the dog was simply protecting his owner as I was trying to change the patient’s socks and undergarments. I don’t want anything bad to happen to the dog.
But my hand has gotten infected. I have to take antibiotics and my body isn’t responding well to them. My hand is in bad shape and it will take months to heal before I can go back to my everyday required single mother activities. I also had to get a rabies shot because I wasn’t sure if the dog was vaccinated or not. This was very expensive and I have a ton of medical bills coming in. Is there anything I can do to get help with my situation without the dog being put down?
Need help,
Dear Dog Bite Victim,
You were only trying to help. Yet, you got attacked by the family dog – a typical situation of pet owner negligence. If you work for a company you may have to file a claim with your employer by notifying them of your injury. Your employer should fill out a report of injury and submit it to the Office of Workers’ Compensation.
However, if you work for yourself, this could actually be better for you. In this instance, you do not need to go through a work comp claim and you can recover a settlement by filing a personal injury claim. If you have work comp insurance, your personal injury settlement may be affected by what you collect through workers’ compensation, if you decide to do both. Nevertheless, our Kentucky personal injury team can navigate this legal maze and take any stress and hassle off your plate.
Our plan would be to file a claim under their homeowner’s insurance policy regardless of whether you worked privately or for a company. These insurance policies almost always have provisions to cover the owner’s dog for dog bites. You are covered under this homeowners liability policy because your client did not facilitate a safe work environment for you. While many times it may seem like your fault, it is actually the responsibility of your client whose house you were in to train their dog to be friendly enough to be around guests and workers like yourself.
Our personal injury law firm has years of experience with cases exactly like yours. The fact that you were working while you were bitten by a dog should not deter you from seeking a lawyer’s help. Importantly, please know that we handle everything as delicately as possible with the dog owner. Many times, we work straight through the home insurance, and the actual dog owner is not even involved. If you have questions about how the dog bite claim process works or would just like to know more about what we can do for you, please give us a call as soon as possible. We offer free injury consultations and advice over the phone and at any of our local personal injury law offices.
Best,
