MJQ Law protects the rights of dog bite victims in San Francisco and across the Bay Area. We represent runners who have been chased down by dogs and bitten. Our skilled dog bite lawyers take action immediately to secure the financial compensation victims need to make a full recovery from a devastating bite wound. Contact us for a free, no-obligation case consultation. This is a no-risk way to find out what your dog bite injury may be worth.
Should I Call a Lawyer After Suffering a Dog Bite While Jogging
If your injuries are very minor, you might be able to handle your dog bite claim yourself. But if your injuries are more serious, such as a broken bone or a deep tissue tear, you may need a San Francisco Dog Bite Lawyer to protect your rights.
When hospital bills skyrocket, insurance companies for dog owners fight even harder to try to avoid taking financial responsibility for recovery costs. Your lawyer defends you when adjusters try to blame you for an accident or try to question how badly you were hurt. Then MJQ Law aggressively seeks to maximize the support you receive while you heal so you can fully recover and return to the runs you love.
Dog Bite Hazards While Running in San Francisco
San Francisco has many amazing routes for runners to find challenges on. Whether they are running on streets in the Noe Valley neighborhoods or enjoying the views along The Bay Trail, runners still have to be cautious around motorists. They have to look out for potholes and roots growing through sidewalks. Unfortunately, they must also keep an eye out for dogs on the loose who might be tempted to chase joggers and deliver a painful bite.
A dog that’s been turned loose from a yard might find you along a sidewalk and grab your hand or your ankle. Dog owners walking in a park might allow dogs too much leash, letting a pet get too close to you as you run past.
These frightening encounters might leave you with deep puncture wounds or broken bones in your hands, arms, and legs. The medical care to get you back to full health so you can run again might rise into the tens of thousands of dollars. These costs should be the responsibility of the dog owner and the owner’s homeowners insurance company. A San Francisco Dog Bite Lawyer can help you hold a dog owner liable and make sure you receive every benefit available while you heal.
Who Is Responsible if You Are Bitten by a Dog While Out for a Run
California makes it easier for runners to prove who is responsible after a dog bite incident so they can seek financial support. State law follows the legal concept of “strict liability.” This means that a dog owner is usually fully liable for bite wounds, even if the dog hasn’t bitten anyone before.
There are only a few situations that might leave the runner to blame for what happened or partially to blame:
- Runners may have been trespassing.
- Runners may have provoked the dog.
In cases involving a runner, the victim usually wouldn’t be trespassing on someone’s private property or be provoking a dog intentionally. Even if a victim was found partially to blame for what happened, the dog owner would likely be responsible for a bigger percentage of the accident. The victim could still expect to secure sizable compensation to help pay medical bills.
Your dog bite lawyer would gather all evidence available to keep your responsibility low or to prove you weren’t liable for any part of what happened.
What If a Dog Knocks Me Down While I’m Running?
Joggers and walkers knocked down by a dog could also hold the dog owner responsible. If a bite wasn’t involved, strict liability wouldn’t apply to the injury claim. However, other personal injury laws would be applicable and could help victims earn support. Runners may be toppled by a jumping dog to fall down steps or off a curb. Victims may suffer broken wrists or hit their heads on a road surface to endure brain trauma.
In the case of a knockdown injury caused by a jumping dog, runners may be asked to provide extra evidence that a dog owner and the dog contributed to a fall. Your San Francisco dog bite lawyer helps you secure the evidence you need to hold a dog owner fully accountable.
Common Injuries Suffered by Runners in Dog Attacks
Support from dog owners and their homeowners or renter’s insurance providers will be crucial because the effects of a dog bite on victims can be devastating. Even a sprain or torn ligaments can shut down a runner for weeks or months.
These are just a few of the injuries treated in San Francisco emergency rooms after dog bites:
- Lacerations and Punctures: Dog bites usually break the skin and do much worse. Lacerations involve a tearing of the skin and longer cuts. Punctures may be shorter in length but go much deeper. These wounds are often delivered to the hands because they may be the closest body part the dog can reach. Runners may also try to defend themselves with their hands and arms.
- Broken bones. Fingers, ankle bones, and other bones may be broken by a dog’s bite.
- Internal Organ and Tissue Damage: Organs and the tissue that connects and supports them can be damaged. Muscles, tendons, and ligaments may be stretched or torn.
- Nerve Damage: Symptoms include burning or stinging sensations in the affected limb. Victims may experience a loss of control of their hands and legs. Surgery could help, but numbness and a loss of motor function are permanent for some victims. Joggers may have to give up running.
- Crushing Injuries: In bites caused by large dog breeds, the force of a bite might be devastating. Hands, ankles, and even throats can end up crushed.
- Infections: Rabies, Tetanus, and other infections are possible from a pit bull bite.
Contact a San Francisco Dog Bite Lawyer
If you or a loved one were bitten by a dog while exercising, you should talk over your case with a skilled San Francisco Dog Bite Attorney. A free case consultation with a real lawyer at MJQ Law is the best way to stay informed of every benefit available to you. You should find out what your injury may be worth and how to make sure an insurance company accepts full responsibility.
We are compassionate advocates for accident victims and we seek settlements that protect victims and their families now and in the years ahead. We want victims to recover completely so they can get back to the runs they love. To get started, please contact us as soon as you can to set up a free consultation.
There’s no obligation, but If you feel MJQ Law can help you get more for your injury claim, you don’t need to worry about how you’ll pay us. We actually don’t see a dime unless we win your case for you. Then our fee comes entirely out of the settlement you are awarded.