Settlement Negotiations in Animal Attack Cases

A victim of an animal attack can demand compensation for the emotional and physical injuries he suffered during the incident. Some of the physical injuries that can be inflicted on you during an attack may include the following:

• Abrasions
• Lacerations
• Punctures
• Tissue loss and avulsion
• Crush injuries
• Fractured bones
• Sprain / strain injuries
• Scars
• Infections such as rabies, cellulites, and “canimorsus” infections

Aside from this, an animal attack may also lead to death in worst cases.

Moreover, injuries extend beyond the physical injury and damage and may result in emotional and psychological trauma. Parents who helplessly witnessed their child during an attack are also likely to experience the same emotional trauma.

Animal Attack Settlement

In most personal injury cases, the process of settlement negotiation begins with the victim’s demand for compensation. With the assistance of an attorney, a victim may initiate the negotiations with the negligent owner.

An animal attack incident is a strict liability issue under most state laws. Liability in cases such as these may be determined under the following situations:

• A person whose negligence caused the attack
• A person who violated a leash law or a law prohibiting animals or pets from "running at large"
• A person who kept an animal with the knowledge that it had a history of injuring people

In such a situation, an animal attack settlement attorney may present and recover from the animal owner or his insurance provider, compensation for the following damages and expenses:

• Medical emergency room costs
• Hospitalization
• Plastic surgery
• Psychological & emotional trauma treatment
• Lost wages and loss of present and future earning capacity
• Pain and suffering

Meanwhile, the owners may face stricter penalties if ever the attack has resulted to the victim’s death.

In demanding for compensation, a settlement attorney will present the offending party all relevant facts, evidences, evaluation and if necessary, the expert opinion of an animal trainer. Added to this, the demand will also include detailed documents about the injuries sustained, the medical evaluation and treatment made on the victim.

The demand must also specify the estimated amount to settle the claim depending on the extent of injuries suffered and the cost of treatment and rehabilitation. In any case, the attorney will take all necessary means to settle the maximum claim possible.

However, if the animal owner denies liability and refuses reimbursement, then the settlement negotiation ends and the lawyer will have no recourse but to file the necessary action in court in behalf of the victim.

Settlement negotiations may resume once the case is filed, but any agreement will have to be approved by the court since a lawsuit has already been filed before it. In this condition, a legal advocate specializing in this field of law is truly needed.

Negotiating a settlement in an animal attack incident may involve several processes. From the preparation of the case to the making of demands for settlement, the services of an attorney will prove to be vital in these situations.

To assist you in times like these, you will need a knowledgeable attorney who has the skills and experience in handling animal attack settlement negotiations.
Grab the opportunity to obtain big recoveries for your injuries, employ the services of our worthy animal attack settlement attorneys. For more details, log on to our Los Angeles personal injury defenders website.

Before becoming an online writer, Manuel worked as a journalist, a newspaper columnist, a scriptwriter, a fiction writer, a magazine editor, and a tutor. He acquired his legal background as a Senate legislative officer and later on, as a researcher and paralegal staff in various law offices. Someday he hoped to go back and devote more time to writing fiction, which is his first passion.