Corona Dog Bite Lawyer
For many of us, our dogs are a part of our family. We care, nurture, and protect them. But some pet owners can be far less responsible, failing to train or socialize their dogs, letting their dogs run loose, or simply forgetting to close doors and gates.
This can be dangerous for the pets of others, as well as to people. If a dog attacked you or a loved one in Corona, you need a dog bite lawyer who knows California and local pet laws.
The team at Yarian Accident & Injury Lawyers represents dog bite victims like you. Contact us today for a free consultation to see if we can get you the money you need to pay your medical bills and compensate you for your pain and stress.
How We Help Corona Dog Bite Victims
At Yarian Accident & Injury Lawyers, our team has years of experience representing victims of dog bites in the Corona area. It happens too often here in one recent year, people reported 113 dog bites to Corona Animal Services.
Our mission in every case is to secure the maximum compensation available for our clients under California law to ensure they can pay for medical care, lost wages, and the pain and suffering caused by their injuries.
The legal services we provide to our clients vary depending on their individual needs and priorities.
In general, however, our dog bite cases involve:
- Investigating the facts and circumstances of a Corona dog bite to determine where, when, and how it happened.
- Identifying the dog’s owner and any other party who may face legal liability to our client for dog bite-related injuries and losses.
- Evaluating the nature and extent of our clients’ dog bite injuries, to calculate the damages our client deserves to receive under California law.
- Preparing our client’s case by gathering evidence, drafting legal demands, and alerting insurance companies and defense lawyers to our client’s claim.
- Pursuing our client’s dog bite claim in the manner that best serves our client’s interests.
- Negotiating settlements of dog bite claims with liability insurance companies and defense lawyers, if they’re willing to provide reasonable compensation to our client.
- Litigating our client’s claims in Riverside County courts when necessary to secure the money our clients need to pay for their care and heal from a dangerous dog bite.
- Collecting money damages owed to our client through a settlement, judgment, or jury award.
To learn how we may help you after a dog bite injures you or a loved one in Corona, contact our team today for a free case consultation.
Potential Compensation for a Corona Dog Bite
Generally speaking, victims of dog bites in Corona may recover compensation for their injuries and losses. The compensation available may vary from case to case, but it typically includes the economic and non-economic damages, and may also include exemplary damages. Here’s an explanation of each.
Economic damages
These damages reflect direct financial losses resulting from a dog bite. They typically include:
- Medical expenses involved in treating a dog bite injury and any related health complications;
- Other expenses the victim wouldn’t have had if the dog bite hadn’t happened; and
- Lost wages and income due to the dog bite, such as when a victim misses work while healing or suffers a disabling injury.
At Yarian Accident & Injury Lawyers, we keep close track of our clients’ past and future economic damages, to ensure that they receive compensation that pays them back for every penny a dog bite has and will cost them.
Non-economic damages
These damages aim to compensate a Corona dog bite victim for the non-financial difficulties inflicted on them by their injuries, such as their:
- Physical pain from getting bitten and from any medical treatment necessary to heal from a bite.
- Emotional distress inflicted by the dog bite, such as anxiety, fear, depression, and even post-traumatic stress disorder.
- Loss of enjoyment of life, such as when a dog bite injury interferes with a victim’s ability to enjoy hobbies or activities, spend time with loved ones, or go about a day-to-day routine without difficulty.
- Loss of companionship or consortium, which may occur when a dog bite disrupts a victim’s relationships.
Non-economic damages aren’t always as straightforward to calculate as economic damages, but the Yarian Accident & Injury Lawyers team is up to the task. We work closely with our clients to understand the full impact of their dog bite injuries and uncover evidence to support the maximum possible damages they can recover.
Exemplary damages
Under California law, a court may also award exemplary (or punitive) damages to the victim of a Corona dog bite, if the circumstances reflect actions by the dog owner or other at-fault party that involved oppression, fraud, or malice. At Yarian Accident & Injury Lawyers, we pursue exemplary damages aggressively in any case that merits them.
Liability for Dog Bites Under California Law
California law holds dog owners strictly liable for injuries their dogs cause. In other words, a dog owner is automatically liable to the victim for damages, without regard to fault, so long as the bite occurred in a public place or on private property where the victim had the right to be, which may include the dog owner’s property.
California’s strict dog bite liability rule only applies to the dog’s owner. If someone other than the owner engages in intentional or negligent conduct that results in a harmful dog bite such as, for example, violating a Corona Municipal Code dog regulation they may still bear liability to the victim, just not strict liability. Instead, the victim’s lawyer would need to prove a non-owner’s fault to recover damages for the victim’s injuries and losses.
Some people who suffer dog bites while working cannot seek compensation from a dog owner. For example, veterinarians, veterinary technicians, and dog kennel workers work around dogs daily and assume at least some risk of bites.
Also, the law exempts some types of bites from the strict liability rule. A criminal suspect bitten by a police dog working, a bite victim who provokes a dog into biting, and a victim who gets bitten by a dog while trespassing on the dog’s owner’s property usually cannot hold the dog owner strictly liable. But even those rules have exceptions.
California dog bite law, as you can see, can get complicated. That’s one of many reasons you should always hire a personal injury lawyer well-versed and experienced in dog bite law, like an attorney at Yarian Accident & Injury Lawyers, to represent you in your Corona dog bite claim.
Time Limits for Filing a Corona Dog Bite Injury Claim
In California, the statute of limitations for taking legal action seeking compensation for a dog bite case is two years. That means you have up to two years from the date of your injury to file a lawsuit against the dog’s owner or another at-fault party.
Do not wait to hire an experienced dog bite injury attorney. Investigating and developing a case takes time, and a lawyer may need every minute of the two-year window to build the strongest possible case on your behalf. Plus, the sooner you speak with an attorney, the better the attorney’s chances of finding and preserving evidence for proving your case.
Pursuing a Dog Bite Injury Claim Doesn’t Necessarily Mean Going to Court
Some Corona dog bite victims shy away from hiring a lawyer because they don’t like the idea of going to court. At Yarian Accident & Injury Lawyers, we understand the hesitation some people feel about courtrooms, judges, and juries, and we take our clients’ interests and priorities into account in every action we take on their behalf.
Often, our team can settle dog bite injury claims out of court, long before they reach the trial stage. Many dog owners in Corona carry homeowner’s or renter’s insurance that covers them against dog bite liability. And because California law holds dog owners strictly liable for dog bites, the owners’ insurance companies often have little incentive to fight a well-documented dog bite claim presented to them by a skilled dog bite injury law firm like Yarian Accident & Injury Lawyers.
But not all Corona dog bite claims settle out-of-court. Sometimes taking a dog bite claim to trial truly represents the best option for our clients to secure the compensation they need and deserve for their injuries and losses. When that happens, our team of experienced, knowledgeable trial lawyers is more than ready to argue our client’s case before a judge or jury, and support our clients through the trial process so that it is not too much of a strain for them and their families.
We encourage any Corona dog bite victim who worries about the prospect of going to court to speak with our team about potential options. We put our clients’ priorities first, and can often find efficient, effective ways to get them the money they need.
How much will your dog bite lawyers cost me?
Another hesitation Corona dog bite victims sometimes have is that hiring a lawyer will cost them too much money. We understand that worry too, but it’s not one our clients need to have.
We offer a free consultation to anyone who wants to learn about their rights after suffering injuries or losses in a Corona dog attack. In a consultation, our team can learn about what happened and give an initial assessment of whether a bite victim has a case.
Plus, we virtually always represent our Corona dog bite clients on a contingent fee basis. That means we do our work without getting paid any money upfront. Instead, we only get paid if we get results for our clients.
So, don’t worry about affording a lawyer from Yarian Accident & Injury Lawyers. We make our services affordable to anyone who needs them.
Potentially Helpful Evidence in a Corona Dog Bite Case
To get the most out of your free consultation with a dog bite injury legal professional from Yarian Accident & Injury Lawyers, it can help if you collect the following items. (But don’t worry if you can’t gather the items on the list below we understand the complications a dog bite injury can bring to your life, and the most important thing is that you contact a skilled lawyer right away.)
- A copy of any police report or other official report produced when you notified authorities of the dog bite.
- The name and contact information of the dog’s owner.
- Photographs of the dog and the location of the attack immediately following, including such things as open gates, open doors, proof the dog was loose, etc.
- The names and contact information of any witnesses to the attack.
- Medical records from the treatment of your dog bite injuries.
- Photographs of your injuries.
- The clothing you were wearing at the time, preferably unwashed.
- Medical bills, insurance statements, and other information about bite-related expenses.
What should you do after a dog bite?
First and foremost, seek medical care for your injuries. Dog bites can cause dangerous blood loss, scarring, and potentially deadly infection (such as rabies). You may need quick action to protect your health.
Next, report the bite to Corona Animal Services & Enforcement at 951-736-2309. The dog that bit you may need to be monitored for rabies exposure, and reporting the bite may also provide you with information about the owner and the dog’s history of viciousness (if any).
And don’t worry, reporting a biting dog will not automatically result in the dog being impounded or destroyed. That only happens in rare cases when authorities have determined a dog presents a public health danger, and the owner has failed to take steps to keep the public safe.
Contact a Corona Dog Bite Injury Lawyer Today
If you, or a loved one, suffered dog bite injuries in Corona, there’s a good chance you have the right to receive compensation from the dog’s owner, and potentially other parties as well.
To learn more about your rights, contact Yarian Accident & Injury Lawyers today at (951) 523-0000 for your free consultation with our team.
Yarian Dog Bite Lawyer Corona, CA Office Location
1611 Pomona Rd #222Corona, CA 92878
Phone: +1 951-523-0000
