Why Hire Our Lafayette Dog Bite Lawyer?
Louisiana ranked 16th in the nation for dog bite incidents involving U.S. mail carriers in 2023. While postal workers are especially vulnerable, anyone can suffer a bite. Those attacks can cause devastating physical and emotional damage, often forcing victims to undergo expensive practical surgery or cope with post-traumatic stress disorder.
If you or someone you love is a dog bite victim, you may have a legal right to pursue a claim for compensation from the dog’s owner. Anderson Blanda & Saltzman can help you enforce that right.
Our dog bite attorneys have been named among the Super Lawyers Rising Stars and are members of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum. With our 100+ years of collective legal experience and our strong track record of recovering compensation for plaintiffs, you can count on us to help you make the strongest possible claim.
Give us a call today at (337) 233-3366 to schedule a free consultation with a Lafayette personal injury lawyer to learn more about how we can help you.
Louisiana Dog Bite Law
States treat dog bite incidents in one of two ways:
- In strict liability states, dog owners are always responsible for the harm their dog causes by biting someone. This is true even if there is no history of aggression on the part of the animal. If someone on public property or lawfully on public property suffers from a bite, the dog’s owner will have to pay damages.
- In one-bite states, victims of dog bites must prove that the owner knew, or had a reason to know, that the dog presented a danger in order to be liable for a bite incident. These are called one-free-bite states because unless the dog has bit someone in the past or expressed other aggressive tendencies, it is possible that the owner could escape liability.
In Louisiana, Article 2321 states that, “the owner of an animal … is answerable for the damage caused by the animal… only upon a showing that the owner knew or, in the exercise of reasonable care, should have known that his animal’s behavior would cause damage, that the damage could have been prevented by the exercise of reasonable care, and that the owner failed to exercise such reasonable care.”
When it comes to dogs specifically, the same statute reads “the owner of a dog is strictly liable for damages for injuries to persons or property caused by the dog and which the owner could have prevented and which did not result from the injured person’s provocation of the dog.”
This essentially means Louisiana has a one-bite rule since you can hold the owner accountable if they knew that the animal would behave in a way that could cause harm.
What to Do After a Louisiana Dog Bite
If you want to recover compensation after a bite incident, you’ll need to identify all of the potential defendants. Usually, this is the dog’s owner but it could be others including, in some cases, landlords, or property owners who allowed the dog to remain on the premises despite knowing it presented a danger.
You can pursue a civil lawsuit for personal injury damages against those who were responsible for the dog being in a position to harm you. You’ll need to show the owner should have known the dog was dangerous, though, and you’ll also need to demonstrate the extent of your damages. You can present evidence such as medical records, witness testimony, and any other documentation to make your case.
You may be able to recover compensation for medical care costs, including both past and future expenses, as well as for lost wages and emotional distress. The money you recover can be instrumental in helping you to rebuild, so you shouldn’t hesitate to pursue your claim.
Protecting Your Rights After a Dog Bite Injury in Lafayette
Anderson Blanda & Saltzman is here and ready to help. Our Lafayette dog bite accident lawyers will fight for you every step of the way to get you the justice you deserve. Give us a call today at (337) 233-3366 to schedule your free consultation and learn more about how we can represent you.