A dog bite can be extremely painful and take quite a bit of time to heal. Sometimes the injuries from a dog bite are permanent, affecting a victim’s life in many ways.
You have a right to seek compensation for your losses after being bitten by a dog. Minnesota’s dog bite law provides broad protection for dog bite victims, allowing them to recover compensation from either the dog bite owner or the person responsible for the dog.
Additionally, Minnesota law is often interpreted to hold dog owners strictly liable when their dog inflicts an injury on someone. This is done through a personal injury action.
While you enjoy benefits and protections Minnesota’s dog bite law, pursuing a dog bite claim can be complex. It is important to know what to do after a dog bite to increase your chance of compensation through a legal claim.
Find the dog’s owner
Identify the dog’s owner or the person responsible for the dog and obtain their contact information. Ask for proof of a rabies vaccination.
If you do not receive proof, you might need to undergo a series of rabies shots. These can be costly, but you can request compensation for the cost as part of your dog bite claim.
Seek immediate medical care for the dog bite even if you do not believe it is severe. The injury could be more serious than you believe or might become infected.
Contact the proper authorities and file a dog bite report. This can be used as evidence in your dog bite claim. It can also help prevent others from being bitten by this dog in the future.
Photos and documentation
Take photos of your injuries. Start with photos immediately after the bite and take photos each day to show how the injury changes over time.
Write down everything that happens after the dog bite, including how you feel. Write about how the bite impacts each area of your life. Perhaps you must take time off work and lose wages.
Maybe you had an important event coming up and are now embarrassed or ashamed to go to it because of the injury. Documenting these events and feelings can help when you are assessing the total amount of damages to ask for in your dog bite claim.
Damages can include compensation for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering and the emotional trauma that comes from any physical scarring.
Find out how the dog was classified
Your compensation could increase if the dog that bit you was legally classified as a “dangerous dog.” This is a dog who inflicts substantial bodily harm without provocation, kills domestic animals while off the owners property or aggressively bites or attacks human or domestic animals after the owner has notice the dog could be dangerous.
The law also classifies dogs as “potentially dangerous” if they bite a human or domestic animal unprovoked, chase a person off the owner’s property in a threatening manner or are known to make an unprovoked attack that threatens the safety of others.
Minnesota dog owners are required to take several steps if they know their dog is a dangerous or potentially dangerous dog.
Once you have taken the above steps, you are ready to file a personal injury claim. Be sure to file it within the statute of limitations, which is within six years of the date of your injury.