Dogs are regarded as the best friends of humans. Still, even a calm, playful, and brilliant canine can act aggressively under certain circumstances. Being attacked or bitten by a dog can be traumatic and may result in serious injuries and life-long scarring. Mostly, the dog owner is held responsible for the aggressive nature of his/her domestic canine. Hence, that person will be entitled to cover your medical expenses. This explains the importance of hiring a dog attack lawyer and filing a dog bite claim to get fair financial coverage for your injuries and damages.
However, this task can get confusing and frustrating at times, especially if there are a dizzying number of personal injury lawyers around you. Note that dog bite cases are categorized under personal injury loss and hence, you can hire a personal injury lawyer to proceed with your case. Some of the common mistakes you are likely to make when hiring a dog bite attorney are listed below. Make sure to avoid those missteps at any cost.
Hiring a dog attack lawyer who guarantees a specific settlement amount
The exact outcome or dog bite settlement amount that you may obtain from the opposite party cannot be determined or predicted. Hence, make sure to stay away from the personal injury lawyers who claim to predict the results irrespective of how successful and experienced the person is. A reputed attorney will usually assess your case well and explain the strong and weak links in your case. With this, he may calculate an estimate that you may obtain or predict the chance of winning the case, but not the exact outcome.
Hiring an attorney who prefers to settle your case out of court
Some dog attack lawyers may suggest out of court settlement for your case and may promise you to obtain the complete compensation that you are entitled to. Note that if the opposite party feels that they won’t lose big at trial, the chances for them to offer lower settlement rates are high. Plus, your advocate is likely to charge larger fees in such cases. Hence, it is better to avoid hiring such lawyers.
Hiring an advocate who hesitates to explain his exact fee
Some attorneys may not reveal their exact fee at your first meeting. This can be a trap at times. Note that some incredible lawyers may sometimes spike up his fee after one or two hearings or may demand a larger fee even if you lose the case. Therefore, always confirm their charges in the very first meeting. Otherwise, go for a reputed and well-versed dog attacklawyer who works on a contingency-fee basis. That is, you will have to pay a percentage of the compensation that you obtained. In other words, you will have to pay a fee only if you won the case.
