Dog Bite Injuries

February 18, 2011

Liability for a Dog Bite

I live in the country in Tennessee. My dog runs loose. The dog bit a neighbor kid over at his house about 700 feet down the road. The dog never bit anyone before. Am I responsible for what my dog did? I thought every dog got one free bite?

A dog’s owner used to be able to avoid responsibility for a dog bite if he did not know the dangerous propensities of the dog, but that is no longer the law if the bite occurs off the dog owner’s property. Subject to several exceptions, if you let your dog run at large, you are responsible for injuries caused by your dog even if you had no reason to believe the dog was dangerous.

You report the bite to your homeowner’s insurance as soon as possible. Your homeowner’s insurance policy may provide you with some protection in the event you are asked to pay medical bills or get sued by the neighbor.

February 17, 2011

What Damages Can A Parent Recover in a Personal Injury Case for a Minor Child?

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

My son was bit by a neighbor’s dog. What rights do I have in a lawsuit against the dog owner?

You have the right to recover medical expenses that you paid or were paid by your insurance company. (You almost certainly have to repay your health insurance company out of the settlement or judgment.) You can also recover damages for loss of services of your child.

Under Tennessee law, you cannot recover damages loss of the relationship between you and your child because of the injuries or for your emotional distress at seeing your child deal with his injuries.

February 15, 2011

Can I Bring A Lawsuit For My Daughter?

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

My 10-year old daughter was hurt in a car wreck. Her dad and I are divorced. Can I file a lawsuit on her behalf?

Yes, if you are the custodial parent you are permitted to bring a lawsuit on your daughter’s behalf. If you are not the custodial parent the appropriate person to bring the lawsuit is your daughter’s father ( I assume that he is the custodial parent).

Even if you are the custodial parent and have the right to file suit, you should work with the child’s father and try to maintain a united front in the litigation.

November 1, 2010

How Many Jurors Do I Need to Win?

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

I have a personal injury case going to try in Cookeville, TN next month. How many jurors need to vote for me for me to win?

You will probably have a 12-person jury. That is the typical number of jurors in a civil jury trial in Tennessee. You and your opponent may agree to a lesser number of jurors, but you will almost certainly have 12 jurors (and one or more alternate jurors) hear the case.

All twelve jurors must vote for you for you to win the case. Some states permit a lesser number (10 of 12, 9 of 12) but in Tennessee the jury verdict must be unanimous unless the parties to the lawsuit agree on that the verdict may be something other than a unanimous verdict. For obvious reasons, the defense will rarely agree to such a proposal.

October 19, 2010

My Neighbor’s Dog Bit Me!

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

I was visiting my neighbor. He has a dog that is usually chained up but ran up behind me after I stepped off my neighbor’s porch and bit me on the back of the leg. I fell down and he bit me again on the arm before my neighbor was able to get him off me. The dog was chained up because he bit someone about 3 years ago, but now they leave him off the chain from time to time to let him get exercise in the yard. I ended up getting an infection from the bites, have missed four weeks of work and spent thousands of dollars in medical bills. What are my rights?

Under Tennessee law a dog owner has a duty to exercise reasonable control over his dog. If you are bitten by a dog on the dog owner’s property while you are on the property with the owner’s permission you have to prove that the dog owner knew or should have known about the dog owner’s dangerous propensities and that that he or she did not exercise reasonable control over the dog.

If you win your case, you are entitled to payment of damages. Most injuries caused by dog bites are covered under the dog owner’s homeowner’s insurance policy.

October 11, 2010

How Quickly Will My Case Settle?

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

I was in a car wreck about 6 months ago. The other driver admitted fault. My medical bills are about $25,000. I have been released by my doctor. My lost wages are $2000. How quickly will my case settle?

At the outset you need to understand that your case may not settle at all. In Tennessee the insurance company does not have a duty to settle your case and in fact does not even owe you a duty to fairly evaluate your case. It can settle a case, or not settle a case, on whatever schedule it wants to put in place.

However, if the insurance company wants to settle the case it needs to have information from your lawyer. At an absolute minimum, the company needs the accident report, your medical records and bills, perhaps some of your previous medical records, proof of lost wages from your employer, and an understanding of how the injuries have impacted your life. To the extent you claim a permanent injury, future medical expenses, future loss of earning capacity, or other damages, the insurance company will need proof of that.

October 6, 2010

Dog Bite Case

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

My child and I were in a public park. A man was there with his dog. He did not have it on a leash. The dog ran over, knocked my child down, and bit her on the face. She has lots of stitches and may have a scar. The dog’s owner said that the dog has never done this before. What are my child’s rights?

In Tennessee a dog owner has the duty to keep a dog under reasonable control at all times and to prevent the dog from running at large. If the dog owner does not do so and the animal injures a person on public property (or on private property of someone other than the dog owner) the dog owner is responsible for the dog’s actions.

Under these circumstances, this is true even though the dog has never bitten anyone else.