Dog Bites

Tulsa, Norman, Edmond, Oklahoma City, and McAlester, Oklahoma

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og bites have become somewhat of an epidemic in the United States. There are almost 5 million victims each year, which is about 2% of the entire population. Of those dog bites, approximately 800,000 require medical attention, many in hospital emergency rooms. Most of the victims of dog bites who receive medical attention are children, half of whom are bitten in the face. It is estimated that 26 people die from dog bites each year. In more than two-thirds of the cases included in the study, the life-threatening or fatal attack was apparently the first known dangerous behavior by the animal.

Dog attack victims in the United States suffer over $1 billion in monetary losses every year. According to the Insurance Information Institute, in 2005, dog bites cost insurers over three hundred million dollars, and dog bite claims accounted for about 15% of liability claims dollars paid under homeowners insurance policies.

The law office of Stipe, Harper, Laizure, Uselton, Belote, Maxcey & Thetford in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma has expertise in representing people with dog bite injuries. Our dog bite legal team will study the effects of your dog bite injury and will gather the evidence necessary to completely prove not only what happened in the past but also what the future effects will be.

What to do after a Dog Bite

It is important to identify the animal that bit you because if it is a stray and you cannot identify it, you're facing the possibility of having to submit to treatment for rabies, which can be painful. Also, if you were attacked by a dog or any wild animal being kept by a person, you probably are entitled to receive compensation from the animal's owner, and you might really need that compensation to pay your medical bills, reimburse you for lost income, pay for cosmetic surgery in the future, and help you overcome the pain and suffering from your injuries.

After that, get medical attention. If you are wounded on the face, insist on treatment by a plastic surgeon because emergency room doctors are great at keeping people alive but not necessarily the best at making stitches and wounds look good. After that, be sure to follow the directions of the physician and take all the medications that are prescribed. You might also be ordered to stay out of the sun, use sun block, use scar reduction lotion, change bandages, report for follow up treatment, report for removal of stitches, massage the healing areas, etc.

If the dog owner is insured, you might get a call from an insurance company representative. You should ask him or her for the following information:

Name of insurance company
Address of his or her office
Telephone number
Claim number
Name of the person who is insured
The amount of money available to pay medical expenses

You should not do any of the following:

Do not discuss money, payment of money, settlement, injury value or anything else involving money
Do not set up an appointment
Do not write a letter or a memo
Do not permit yourself to be tape recorded
Do not allow the victim to be photographed
Do not discuss who is responsible
Do not accept any money

An experienced dog bite attorney can help you through the legal process that may ensue after you are bitten by a dog. As a dog bite victim, you may incur many different kinds of damages and losses, from medical bills and emotional damage to loss of the opportunity to earn income in the future because of disfigurement. Furthermore, an attorney is the only person who can turn a claim into a lawsuit if you are not being treated fairly. Without the threat of a lawsuit, you are at the mercy of the insurance company.

Please contact the law office of Stipe, Harper, Laizure, Uselton, Belote, Maxcey & Thetford in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to schedule your no-cost, confidential consultation with one of our dog bite attorneys today.

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McAlester Office
343 E. Carl Albert Pkwy.
McAlester, OK 74501

Phone: (918) 423-0421
or (800) 658-1596
Fax: (918) 423-0266

Oklahoma City Office
525 Central Park Dr., 101
Oklahoma City, OK 73105

Phone: (405) 524-2268
or (800) 299-7299
Fax: (405) 525-3231

Tulsa Office
2417 E. Skelly Dr.
Tulsa, OK 74170

Phone: (918) 749-0749
or (800) 798-2613
Fax: (918) 747-0751

Disclaimer: The information contained throughout this site is meant to generally inform the reader about our areas of practice, including dog biteinjury. This information is not meant to be taken as legal advice and nothing on this site establishes a lawyer / client relationship. Our accident lawyers provide legal assistance in the Tulsa area including Oklahoma City, McAlester and Norman, Oklahoma.