Suffering from a dog bite requires a specific level of care. Depending on the severity you might need stitches or plastic surgery. With the costly treatment that might be necessary and the potential of an infection, the sooner you follow up after a dog bite, the better.
You’ll want to make sure that you take care of yourself and understand that there might be compensation for the costs involved with your injury. To recover from your injury, you’ll want to take these three steps:
- Exchange contact information: As grave as your injuries might be, it’ll be essential to get contact information from the dog owner. Because if the dog and owner are strangers to you, it’ll be difficult to file a claim. You’ll also have no way of tracing the vaccination history of the animal.
- Seek medical attention: You’ll want to get to the emergency room as soon as possible. Sometimes the fastest and safest way to do this is by calling an ambulance. This will allow you to get professional help to clean the wound, detect and treat any infections and patch up the cut.
- Report the incident: To ensure that the dog doesn’t hurt another victim the same way, it’s important to report the incident. Per state law, animal bite victims or the physicians who treat them must report the bite to the health department in their county.
Having your health records indicate that you received medical aid for a dog bite and reporting the event will serve as proof of the tragic event as you seek compensation. Because when South Carolina residents are bit by a dog in public or private place they haven’t trespassed, the owner of the dog might be liable for the violent actions of their pet. This rule doesn’t apply if the bite victim provoked or harassed the dog or if the dog is a trained law enforcement dog following lawful orders.
Speaking with a personal injury attorney before filing for damages can help you recover all the damages you deserve.