Alpharetta Dog Bite Cases: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that roughly 4.5 million Americans suffer from dog bites each year. Dog bites can range from minor to serious and can even be fatal. Common injuries include nerve damage, broken bones, facial injuries, and emotional trauma.
Most households in Alpharetta have a dog. People there love to keep dogs as pets. As a result, dog bites in Alpharetta, Georgia, are common. If you have been bitten by a dog, you should contact an Alpharetta dog attack lawyer.
Let us look at the possible legal defenses that the at-fault party’s lawyer will use in dog bite cases.
Provocation
The dog owner and the lawyer will try to prove the victim provoked the dog. Provocation is when:
- Someone pets the dog over the fence without the owner’s permission.
- Touching the dog while eating, sleeping, or feeding the puppies.
- Threatening and aggressively approaching a dog while it is in its territory.
- Entering somewhere marked ‘Beware of Dogs.’
- Scare the dog by making loud noises and harassing the dog.
When a dog is provoked by doing the abovementioned things, the dog can become aggressive and bite someone. The dog owner is not liable in such a case, as they did not breach the duty of care.
Alpharetta dog bite injury attorneys come in handy when the bitten person is a child. This is because this case is quite complex, as children don’t know what constitutes provocation. A child might be just playing and, in the process, scare the dog, resulting in an injury.
Trespass
An Alpharetta dog attack attorney can use trespass as a defense in dog bite cases. An individual who is illegally on your property cannot sue the owner if their dog bites them. The equity doctrine states that one who comes to equity must come with clean hands. This means the victim cannot bring a suit against the dog owner since they have broken the law by being illegally on the premises.
However, there is an exception. The dog owner should not tell the dog to attack the trespasser. If they instruct the dog to attack the trespasser, they can be liable for the damages suffered.
Another exception is a child. Children do not differentiate right from wrong and usually wonder about their neighbors’ houses. You must contact the Alpharetta dog bite lawyers in such a case.
Failing to invite someone to your home does not make those people trespassers. A good example is the delivery guy and mailman. These people are expected to come to your house while running errands. If your dog attacks them while they are working, you will be liable for any damage they suffer.
Risk Assumption
This is another defense that Alpharetta dog attack lawyers can rely on. Maybe your dog bit the veterinarian when you brought it for a vaccination. Or you arrange for somebody to watch the animal, and the dog injures the person by knocking them down.
The victim in each of these cases most likely accepted the danger of getting hurt by the dog. The presumption of risk defense is common when canines bite or attack people who work in the pet business, such as:
- Kennel workers
- Vets
- Pet sitters
- Dog walkers
As the dog owner, you must always maintain the duty of care. Failing to do so makes you liable, and you end up paying for the victims:
- Medical bills and medication
- Child care expenses
- Future medical costs
- Diminished capacity of earning
- Lost income
Conclusion
Dog owners are responsible for keeping their dogs in check and ensuring they do not go about biting people (duty of care). With the help of an Alpharetta dog bite injury attorney, you can challenge a dog owner’s defense strategies, such as provocation, trespass, assumption of risk, and negligence of the injured person.