Personal injury attorneys represent injured clients who’ve sustained personal injury due to dog bites. If you’re looking for experienced Tulsa dog bite lawyers who know how to handle animal attack cases, we can help. This representation includes negotiating and settling injury cases when settlement is possible. Our dog bite lawyers specialize in those cases involving personal injuries from dog bites, dog attacks, dog mauling, and other animal attacks in Oklahoma.
Animal Attack Law:
Oklahoma dog bite statutes provide as follows: “The owner or owners of any dog in Oklahoma shall be liable for damages to the full amount of any damages sustained when his dog, without provocation, bites or injures any person while such person is in or on a place where he has a lawful right to be.” Okla. Stat. tit. 4, § 42.1 (1980). Under this statute, and contrary to common law negligence claims, a dog owner is strictly liable for the personal injuries his or her dog inflicts. This means that our Tulsa dog bite lawyers don’t have to show that the dog owner was negligent.
What We’ll Prove So You Recover:
For a person to receive a monetary recovery for damages sustained in an Oklahoma dog attack, the person must prove the following elements:
- The dog bit plaintiff;
- The dog acted without provocation;
- Plaintiff was at a place he or she had a lawful right to be; and
- Defendant is the owner of the dog.
No Fault For Dog Bites:
An Oklahoma dog bite victim need not prove negligence or wrongdoing on the part of the dog owner or that the dog had a history of attacks or viciousness. However, criminal prosecution against the dog owner, is possible and within the discretion of the district attorney if the dog had previously inflicted unprovoked bites. Okla. Stat. tit. 4, § 42.4 (2006).
Damages You’re Entitled To:
In an Oklahoma personal injury trial or lawsuit regarding injuries sustained as a result of a dog bite, the jury is instructed to consider the following when determining the award to which the dog bite victim is entitled:
- Victim’s physical pain and suffering, past and future;
- Mental pain and suffering, past and future;
- Victim’s age;
- Your physical condition immediately before and after the accident;
- The nature and extent of the victim’s injuries;
- Whether the injuries are permanent;
- The physical impairment;
- The disfigurement;
- Loss of earnings and/or time;
- Impairment of earning capacity; and
- The reasonable expenses of the necessary medical care, treatment, and services, past and future.
Oklahoma Jury Instructions – Civil § Instruction 4.1. When a dog bite injury results in death, the person’s estate, though the personal representative, may be entitled to damages through a wrongful death action.
Medical Care For Animal Attacks:
If you’ve been injured in an animal attack you are entitled to medical treatment. Injuries caused by animal attacks include punctured skin, ripped muscles and ligaments and at times crushed bones. The law is clear if you’re attacked by a dog the owner of the dog owner is liable. The medical treatment that you’re entitled to includes what ever it takes to get you well again. This may even include psychological counseling.
Tulsa's Local Personal Injury Lawyers
Are you looking for Tulsa attorneys who will fight aggressively for you? Our team of personal injury attorneys have the experience needed in Oklahoma law to secure the outcome you deserve.
Call us today for a free consultation 918-743-2233 or contact us online.