The personal injury lawyers at Robert J. Debry & Associates have been serving personal injury victims for decades. One area of focus for the law firm includes injuries as a result of dog bites.
Nearly 4.7 million people in the United States are bitten by a dog each year. With such a high rate of dog bite injuries, victims need someone to advocate for them. Personal injury lawyers at Robert J. DeBry and Associates have the skills and experience to deal with all matters pertaining to dog bites.
What happens if the victim is a trespasser? First, one would need to assess which laws are applicable, as every state has different laws regarding a dog owner’s liability for dog bites. Some states follow common law while other states enact statutory law such as Dog Bite Statute. Typically, the owners are liable for injuries their pets cause.
Utah is a strict liability state. A victim also has a four-year time limit in which to bring such a matter before the court. Statutory Strict Liability as a law held by a state, which establishes that a dog owner is liable for injury to another person as a result of a dog bite by the owner’s dog, whether the owner was aware or not of the dog’s propensity to violence/viciousness unless the circumstances are particularly extreme.
Second, one would need to determine what constitutes a “trespasser.” The courts may be more lenient in the case of a dog acting in self-defense but less so if the intruder was a child wandering onto the fenceless property of the owner. A trespasser can be defined as anyone who enters a property illegally or without permission. It should be noted that some trespassers may enter a property with implied permission, such as door-to-door salesmen. It is imperative to contact an experienced personal injury lawyer who can assess the facts of the case and provide proper guidance on how to proceed with such a case.
If you have been involved in a dog bite incident, do not hesitate to contact Robert J. DeBry and Associates to get the legal help you need.