5 Critical Actions to Take After a Dog Bite Incident
While dogs seem like adorable and lovable creatures and are part of the family, they sometimes tend to bite. And they bite viciously because they have got a set of fangs. When someone is bitten, their health might be seriously jeopardized, so take quick action. If a dog ever bites you or a loved one, here is what you can do.
1.Get Yourself Treated
Dogs’ mouths are full of germs that can cause a variety of diseases, such as sepsis, tetanus, and rabies, and the World Health Organization states that if the rabies virus penetrates the central nervous system and symptoms appear, the disease proves to be 100% lethal, making it a major threat to human life.
If the torn wound opens your skin, it means it is serious and that you will need to rush to the hospital immediately. Do not try to treat it at home nor delay the visit to the doctor, as you would want to stop the infection from spreading as quickly as possible. Doctors can give you a tetanus shot and antibiotics and even stitch up the wound for you.
- Collect information about the dog
Determine the dog’s identity and owner. If you are unable to locate the dog, attempt to get security footage, post a photo of the dog, identify the owner, and ask for cooperation by noting down the owner’s name, home address, and phone number. Also, ask the owner for vaccine certificates so you know what treatment you can get and whether you should get rabies injections or not.
- Report on the Incident
You need to report the incident to the local authorities or to animal control so that the matter can be officially addressed and the dog quarantined to avoid any such incidents with other people in the vicinity and help with community safety. Give all the details you collected to the authorities. Reporting the incident is an excellent idea because in this way, you ensure that it is legally recorded and can be used as proof for insurance or legal claims.
- Document All Details
Make sure to document everything. Every legal process requires a lot of proof; therefore, make sure you have enough proof by taking pictures of the wounds, bites, scratches, and your initial condition. Even take pictures of your torn clothing or any blood in the vicinity where the incident took place.
Also, try to get witnesses and record what they saw when the incident happened. You should also write everything down yourself as you may forget later. Write down where you were, how you were attacked, the parts of your body that the dog attacked, basically everything.
You should also keep receipts from your visit to the doctor and medicine receipts. In case you are seriously injured and had to skip work, also note down how the dog bite impacted your work life and the wage amount that you lost. It would also be a good idea to record the progression of your wound by taking pictures of it regularly and writing down how it looks and feels.
- Consult a Lawyer
Dog bites can be very expensive because of the potential medical costs. It simply seems logical that you receive compensation when a dog attacks you. Since families view their dogs as a part of them and find it extremely difficult to believe that their pets have been causing harm to others, it is sometimes insufficient to merely speak with the owners. They are afraid of accepting blame and losing their dog.
Here is where a dog bite attorney comes into play. These attorneys are very knowledgeable in their domain and can understand your case to identify your options. They can inform you about your rights and give you the correct legal information about what you can do to get compensation. They can also tell you about things you should avoid that will not help your case and make it weaker instead.
Conclusion
Dogs can be loving pets but can sometimes be fatal to human beings. Make sure to get immediate medical attention in case a dog bites you. If you are a dog owner yourself, make sure your dog is vaccinated and trained to avoid a situation where your dog’s actions seriously injure someone.
Contributed by-
Amanda Proctor