It is a known fact that if you get involved in a dog attack, you can claim compensation for the damages occurred to you. When you file a lawsuit in the court, a judge or jury will be deciding the claim amount after the completion of the trial. But in most dog injury cases, an out of court settlement is done between both of the parties even before the trail begins. If both parties came to an agreement on a certain amount of money, then they can settle the case and avoid the further proceedings in the court.
Usually, the amount for such a settlement will be decided based on the possible amount that a jury will ultimately decide as the dog bite settlement for that specific case. And if there is a high possibility for the dog owner to be held liable for the injury, then he/she will most probably try to settle the case out of the court.
However, it is better to consult a dog attack attorney before you settle on a certain sum of money offered by the defendant or his insurance company, as they will try their best to settle on a low amount. A dog attack attorney will help you to decide if the amount offered is enough to cover the damages you suffered because of the dog attack.
Following are some of the factors that will motivate a defendant to take initiative to settle the case out of the court:
If there is a good chance for the defendant to be held liable
If there is a high possibility for the dog owner to be held responsible for the dog bite attack, then the court will definitely order him/her to pay the compensation. If the court took pity on the victim, this amount will be really high. So if the dog owner find outs that he will be most probably held liable for the injury, then he/she will try to insist the victim for an out of court settlement.
The victim must have suffered real damages
The losses incurred to the victim stemming from the dog bite injury are another factor which affects the out of court settlement. If the level of damages is high then the compensation decided by the court will be also high depending on the circumstances. Therefore, in such cases the defendant might try to settle the case before the case reach to the jury.
Plaintiff’s attorney
Another factor that will persuade the defendant to go for an out of court dog bite settlement is the plaintiff’s attorney. If the dog attack attorney you hired has good expertise and experience and has a good history of successful cases, then you have a great possibility to win the case. This might also inspire the defendant to make an out of court settlement.
