A dog bite can be very serious and result in critical injuries. In the U.S., there is an estimated 4.5 million dog bites every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Approximately half of the victims of dog bites annually are children. In Boston specifically, thousands of people are severely injured by dog bites every year.
Have you been bitten by a dog and don’t know what to do next? Larson Law’s knowledgeable and experienced Boston dog bite attorneys and personal injury lawyers can help guide you or a loved one through the process of getting compensated for a dog bite injury in Boston.
Call us anytime to seek the help you need.
Massachusetts dog bite law is (almost always) strict liability. This means that the victim of the dog bite is not required to prove negligence in order to prevail on their claims, with some exceptions. This means that if a dog attacks or causes injury to a victim, that victim is not required to prove a case of negligence against the dog owner to be successful. Of course, not all dogs are vicious and even those dogs that bite may not have had any history of aggression. In contrast to Massachusetts, some other states require dog bite victims to prove that the owner knew the dog had a propensity for violence.
Additionally, because children are so often victims of dog bites, children under the age of 7 are presumed to have done nothing to warrant a dog attack in Massachusetts. If the child is alleged to have been teasing or abusing the dog or trespassing, the burden of proving such an exception will be on the defendant’s dog owner.
Damages from dog bites and dog attack accidents extend beyond the dog bite. Dog bites are unsurprisingly the most common type of injury sustained from dog-related incidents. However, dogs can cause harm to people and their property in other ways as well. Massachusetts dog bite laws allow victims of different dog-related injuries to seek compensation through the courts for dog-related property damage or injury to other animals.
Defenses and Exceptions to Dog Bites. There are exceptions that dog owners can use as a defense when facing a dog bite lawsuit. Trespassing and provocation of the dog are two examples of these exceptions that dog bite lawyers will understand. If the victim of a dog bite is a bit while trespassing on the property of the dog’s owner, the victim may not have a claim against the dog owner. Similarly, if the victim provokes or incites a dog and then sustains a dog bite injury, the victim’s actions may excuse the dog’s owner from liability.
Our Dog bite attorneys in Boston can help evaluate these defenses and explain them to you.
If you were attacked or bitten by a dog, you should take the following steps to protect yourself from further injury: (This is not medical advice and you should immediately seek medical treatment)
Whether you have been bitten by a dog or you are the owner of a dog that has attacked someone else, Larson Law is the firm you will want on your side to assist with your case. Our knowledgeable and skilled dog bite attorneys are deeply familiar with the dog bite lawsuits in Massachusetts and can help you.
Call us for a free case evaluation for your dog bite matter.
Disclaimer – The settlements above are only a sample of cases represented by our office. Each case is different and the amount of a potential resolution of your case will vary considerably depending on a substantial amount of factors. Some case results were worked with other partnering law firms. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Please do not include any confidential or sensitive information in a contact form, text message, or voicemail. The contact form sends information by non-encrypted email, which is not secure. Submitting a contact form, sending a text message, making a phone call, or leaving a voicemail does not create an attorney-client relationship.