Dog bite injuries are more common in children than they are among adults and, in fact, it is estimated that more than half of all children under the age of 12 have been bitten by a dog. Moreover, dog bites frequently occur in a child’s immediate neighborhood and the dog is likely owned by someone they know or often see. Given that dog bites tend to happen to a child’s face, head, and neck, these injuries have the potential to be quite severe and generally require stitches, painful rabies shots, and even plastic surgery in some cases.
What should you do if your child suffers a dog bite injury? We have listed a few crucial steps below that can help guide you through this difficult time:
- Call 911: Make sure you tell the 911 dispatcher that your child was attacked by a dog and that you need emergency medical services. Even if you think the injuries seem minor, your child should still be evaluated by a medical professional. Small scratches might not look ominous, but they can lead to serious infections, rabies, and other diseases, so do what you can to protect your child and make sure he or she is properly examined.
- Identify the dog’s owner: It is imperative that you locate the owner of the dog that bit your child. If he or she was not at the scene when it occurred, notify the owner of the attack and then make sure you obtain his or her name, address, and phone number. Explain what occurred and that your child’s injuries required emergency medical treatment.
- Contact animal control: Another crucial step involves filing a complaint with your local municipality’s animal control department. This type of report will help ensure that the city takes the appropriate measures to quarantine the dog or otherwise protect the general public from further attacks. If you end up choosing to file a personal injury claim later on, having this dated and detailed report will be immensely important and helpful for your case.
- Gather evidence of the attack: The scene of the attack will have evidence that can have a big impact on the success of your personal injury claim, so make sure you take a few moments to collect and preserve what you can. For example, your child’s clothes might be torn or have blood on them. Do not wash them. To preserve this evidence, place them in a bag for safe keeping. Other forms of evidence you can gather include pictures of the dog, pictures of your child’s wounds prior to treatment, and pictures of the area in which the attack happened.
- Hire a personal injury attorney: Lastly, to ensure you have the best possible chance of obtaining the compensation you deserve, you must hire a skilled personal injury attorney to take on your case and ensure the responsible party is held accountable.
Experienced Dog Bite Attorneys in Las Vegas
If your child was recently bitten by a dog, you need a personal injury attorney on your side to fight on your behalf and ensure you are able to obtain the fair and just compensation you deserve. At Shook & Stone in Las Vegas, our personal injury attorneys have been representing the wrongfully injured since 1997 and will do what it takes to ensure the responsible party is held accountable for their negligence.
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