Dog Bites & Other Animal Injuries
Dogs are animals, and animal behavior can at times be swift and unpredictable.
Dog bites injuries can range in severity from mild to truly horrific, and in the most severe cases even fatal.
Dog owners are held to both the negligence standard and the strict liability standard in Colorado for the bites that their dogs inflict on other people. In Colorado, dog owners are held liable for the bites of their dogs, including the first time that their dog has ever bitten someone. Colorado is not a “one bite rule” state, so in other words, every Colorado dog owner is held liable for every bite that their dog inflicts on other people, including that dog’s first recorded bite. A dog’s bite can be severe. A dog’s teeth are designed by nature to tear flesh and crush bones.
Keep in mind that dog injuries are not only limited to only bites and attacks. Dogs can injure people by charging and crashing into them, they also cause falling injuries by tripping people while on leash or off leash. The elderly and young children are especially at risk, and subject to injuries like these from dogs that did not bite but caused them to fall and suffer injury.
What to do if you, or a loved one is bitten or injured by a dog or other animal:
Get away from and get clear of the animal. Get to a safe place where the animal cannot continue its attack on you.
Call 911 and request that the police and an ambulance (if necessary) are dispatched to the scene of the animal attack. The police will investigate the attack, file a report, and issue a citation to the dog owner. You will want the police to document the scene of the attack and issue a report on the attack.
The animal bite/attack must be reported to authorities. The animal will be automatically quarantined by the local animal control authority for 10 days while a determination is made concerning the animal.
Collect the names and contact information of any witnesses to the animal attack
Take cell phone pictures of the scene of the attack, and the dog (only if you can do it safely).
Seek medical attention. Dog bites can break and crush bones and tear flesh. Get checked out by your doctor, err on the side of caution here, get examined by your doctor.
Call Accident Injury Attorneys for a free, no cost, dog or animal attack personal injury consultation.
What if I, or a loved one is bitten and attacked by a dog or other animal, how do I determine what my legal damages are?
There are two legal standards that Colorado uses as a basis for base personal injury damages as they relate to dog bites, and other animal bites. The determination of which to standard to use comes down to the severity of the injuries inflicted by the dog or other animal on the victim:
Strict liability standard:
The term “strict liability” means that the owner of the dog is strictly liable for the injuries that the dog inflicted on the victim, regardless of whether or not the dog has ever bitten anyone prior to the current attack, and regardless of whether or not the owner of the dog knew that their dog was vicious, (i.e. was a “biter”), that the dog was dangerous, or had the inclination or propensity to bite someone.
For strict liability to apply in Colorado dog bite cases, the injuries to the victim must be serious and severe.
Some examples of strict liability dog bite injuries are:
Serious disfigurement
Death
Permanent injuries like loss of a limb or an appendage, or loss of the function or the permanent impairment of a limb or appendage. Severe muscle and tissue tears and cuts that severely damage that muscle or tissue, or tear away the skin and flesh
Broken and crushed bones
Severely torn muscle or ligaments or other severely damaged sub skin surface tissues
And other serious or severe bodily injuries, not specifically named here
There are severe legal penalties for the owner of a dog that inflicts serious strict liability injuries on a victim like the ones listed above. Depending on the severity of the injury, and the dog’s history of prior bites, the penalties for the dog owner can range from misdemeanor charges or felony charges, in more extreme cases.
Negligence standard:
If you or a loved one, are bitten by a dog or other animal, and your injuries do not arise to the level of the strict liability standard you may still recover for your injuries under Colorado’s negligence standard.
Under Colorado’s Negligence Standard, the owner of a dog must act as a “reasonable and prudent” dog owner in the handling and control of their dog. This means that the owner of the dog has a duty to the victim and the public at large, to protect them from being bitten or attacked by their dog. When a dog owner fails to take reasonable care protect the victim, or the public from being attacked by their dog then the actions (or inactions) of the dog owner may arise to meet the Negligence standard in Colorado.
Below are some brief non-exhaustive examples of less severe dog bite injuries that meet Colorado’s Negligence standard:
Severe skin bruising (aka “severe black and blues”)
Skin tears (aka “minor cuts, severe scraps, and lacerations”)
Tissue lacerations (aka “deep cuts, and dog teeth puncture wounds”)
And other bodily injuries, not specifically named here
At Accident Injury Attorneys we represent people injured in dog bites and animal attacks on a national basis. We are very familiar with the law concerning compensation for dog and animal attack victims. A dog or animal attack can have lasting physical and emotional consequences for the victim. Different from other types of personal injury, dog bites and dog attacks can be psychologically terrifying for the victim, with long lasting psychological trauma.
If you, or a loved one, are the victim of a dog bite or animal attack you will want an experienced legal team behind you that has experience litigating the full range of dog bite and animal attack injuries.
