Get Compensation for your Dog Bites Injury in Minot, Ward County, and across North Dakota
Some dogs are fluffy and cuddly and the biggest danger they pose is peeing on your new Turkish rug. But for others, a dog’s tendency to be aggressive can pose a real concern, both to people they are familiar with and strangers. Some dogs, just because of personality, and others because of their inbred genetics, can occasionally exhibit aggressive and territorial behaviors that can lead to serious injuries.
If you were injured during a dog attack, we strongly recommend that you seek legal counsel from an experienced North Dakota dog bite attorney to see if your case qualifies for compensation. There’s no obligation during a free case evaluation, so it’s worth it to at least speak to an attorney. The experienced Minot dog bite attorneys at Sand Land are happy to help. We’ll answer your questions and help you to determine your options and understand your rights.
North Dakota Does Not Have a Specific Dog Bite Statute
North Dakota does not have a specific personal injury statute that deals with dog bite injuries. Instead, North Dakota injury attorneys refer to a previous case (known as case law) to prove dog bite cases. The case that most attorneys refer to is known as Sendelbach v. Grad. This case allows attorneys to prove that dog bite victims deserve compensation because a dog bite injury fits within the standard negligence laws in North Dakota.
Attorneys use this case to argue that dog bite owners have a ‘duty of care’ to prevent their dog from attacking and biting other people.
Sand Law PLLC is experienced in handling dog bite cases in Minot and across North Dakota. Our aggressive dog bite attorneys are here to help you understand your rights and get compensation for your dog bite injuries, so contact us today for a free consultation.
The Statute of Limitations on North Dakota Dog Bite Claims
A statute of limitations is a time limit for legal cases; basically they require prosecutors or personal injury attorneys to file a claim with the court system within a specific amount of time ensures that the trial is fair, evidence is still reliable, and witness testimony is still accurate.
North Dakota’s statute of limitations for dog bite claims is the same as any other personal injury claims: 6 years from the day the injury occurred.
North Dakota’s Dog Bite Laws
As we mentioned above, North Dakota doesn’t have a specific law relating to dog bites. Instead, the precedent set by other personal injury cases and the North Dakota Supreme Court case of Sendelbach v. Grad set the standard of negligence in North Dakota in regard to dog bite injuries and damages.
In order to receive compensation for any damages caused by dog attack in North Dakota, you must prove three things:
- the dog’s owner had a “duty to care” to prevent their dog from biting,
- that the dog’s owner breached that duty, and
- That because the dog’s owner breached their duty of care, it caused damages to the dog bite victim.
Reasonable Care as it relates to Dog Bite Claims
Courts rely on a concept known as reasonable care to decide whether a dog owner’s had a responsibility to restrain, train, or control their dog so that it wouldn’t attack anyone or cause damage in some other way. The court asks: did the dog owner take reasonable care to prevent the dog from hurting someone?
Using Other Laws to Win a Dog Bite Case
Although North Dakota doesn’t have a specific dog bite statute, other laws can still be used to prove win compensation for injuries caused by a dog. For example, if a dog bites a woman while they are jogging in the park, and the dog wasn’t on a leash, then an attorney can use local leash laws to prove that the owner was negligent.
Comparative Negligence in a Minot Dog Bite Case
Comparative negligence is commonly used in North Dakota personal injury cases that weighs the injured person’s fault for their own injuries versus the fault of the other party. For example, a dog owner’s lawyer may attempt to reduce or deny a dog bite injury claim by using comparative negligence to claim that the injured person was partly or totally to blame for the dog attack.
Using comparative negligence, the judge or jury decides what percentage each person is at fault and reduces the damages by the percentage of fault assigned to the injury victim, assuming the dog bite victim is not more than 49% at fault, in which case they are not eligible for any compensation.
Injuries Caused by Minot Dog Bites
Dog attacks can cause different types of injuries with varying levels of severity that can having lasting damages for victims. Some common dog bite injuries include:
- Lacerations are a deep cut or tear in skin, flesh, or muscle.
- Punctures are deep holes that result when a dog’s teeth puncture deeply into your skin.
- Infections occur in 10 to 15% of dog bites and are caused by the bacteria in a dog’s mouth.
- Rabies is a contagious, fatal viral disease carried by dogs. Luckily, it is far less common in the US than it used to be, but does still occur and is very serious.
- Crushing injuries describe the damage that results when a dog’s mouth applies extreme pressure to an extremity that breaks bones or causes muscle and/or nerve damage.
- Avulsion is the medical term for losing a body part during an injury, like a finger.
- Scarring is a common side-effect of dog bite attacks and can leave victims with serious disfigurements that need reconstructive plastic surgeries.
- Nerve damage suffered by dog bites can cause temporary or permanent paralysis, loss of function, or loss of certain abilities in the affected body part.
- Death from dog attacks are rare, but unfortunately, when it does happen, the victims are often children since their little bodies are not match for a large dog.
- Damages to eyes or ears occurs when a person or child is low to the ground, allowing the dog’s attack to focus on the nearby face. The eyes and ears are often easy targets for an attacking dog.
- Brain injuries, commonly called TBI, can result when a dog attack causes someone to fall abruptly and hit their head on a hard surface.
- Face injuries, like ear and eye injuries, are often caused by the fact that dogs have an instinct to damage the face of whatever they perceive to be threatening them. This category often causes other above injuries, like scarring or TBIs.
- PTSD and emotional trauma are a common result of a vicious dog attack. Once someone has been seriously injiured by a dog, they often suffer PTSD when they encounter dogs in the future. And since 38% of households have dogs, this is can be often.
Contacting an Experienced Minot Dog Bite Injury Attorney
Sand Law has helped hundreds of dog bite victims across North Dakota get the compensation they need to fully recover from their injuries. We have assembled a team of experienced and dedicated personal injury attorneys who are skilled and passionate about representing victims of negligence in all types of personal injury matters, including dog attacks.
We have offices conveniently located in Watford City, Minot, Williston, and Bismarck. We also have a vast network of resources and witnesses that we can employ if necessary to help make a client’s case as strong as possible, helping to ensure our clients get the compensation they deserve.
Contact Sand Law today to schedule your free consultation by calling (701) 609-1510 or by filling our our contact form. We look forward to helping you and your family in your time of need with compassion and understanding.