Judging by the latest statistics available there are approximately five million people in the US who are bitten by a dog every year and of these only about one percent see as much as a penny in compensation. Of the almost five million little more than 15 thousand ever see any money from the dog owner’s insurance company. If you have been bitten by a dog and you try to get compensation without the assistance of a dog bite attorney in New Jersey your chances of success are remote.
A dog bite is considered a personal injury, no different in the eyes of the law to any other injury which is the result of negligence on the part of someone else. As you cannot sue a dog, the animal’s owner is considered an extension of the dog in law.
A dog bite attorney will normally work on contingency. When you realize the slim chance that you have to win meaningful compensation you quickly see how hiring an attorney makes sense. Even if the dog owner’s insurance company makes an offer to settle it will probably be no more than 20 percent of what a lawyer can get from them. An attorney that works on contingency might take up to one third of the award with the other 66 percent going to you, that is certainly better than 20 percent that you might expect to get without him.
When an attorney takes a case on a contingency basis this simply means that should he fail in recovering money on behalf of his client, the client does not have to pay anything but in the event the attorney does negotiate an award for the client, he or she does get paid.
In many cases the dog that has bitten you is owned by someone in your neighborhood, this can make suing the dog’s owner somewhat awkward and uncomfortable. This need not be the case, the attorney will never confront the owner or threaten or intimidate him or her. Your attorney works with the dog owner’s insurance company direct, once you and the owner realize this any animosity will soon fade away. The reason for hiring a dog bite attorney in New Jersey is not to hurt the animals owner in any way, it is simply to ensure that you get a fair settlement for the injuries you received.
In most cases a dog bite claim never goes to court, the parties settle out of court, the insurance company pays the agreed compensation thereby settling the claim quickly and efficiently.
