The domestic dogs that many Illinois residents keep are often considered members of their respective families. Most individuals cannot imagine life without their four-legged friends, and those who do have dogs may go out of their way to include their dogs in their daily lives. Well-trained and controlled dogs can enrich the lives of those who love them, but when dog owners fail to take responsibility for the actions and behaviors that their canine companions’ exhibit, devastating attacks can result in serious injuries.
Dog bites can cause abrasions, lacerations and bleeding. Depending on where on the victim’s body a bite occurs, that victim may suffer muscle and organ damage, as well as broken bones. In cases of vicious attacks, victims can suffer shock from blood loss, significant pain and suffering and even death.
Because the range of personal injuries that dog bite victims can suffer is great, different victims may have different options for the types of damages that they can seek. In practically all dog bite cases, victims can seek the recovery of their attack-related medical costs as those costs are directly attributable to their injury-causing events. When victims must miss work to tend to their injuries, they may be able to seek compensation for their lost wages.
If dogs damage the property of victims, those losses may also be included as damages in injury-based lawsuits. Pain, suffering, and other forms of damages can apply in specific dog bite cases. A reader’s individual attorney may have additional suggestions and support to help them build their unique personal injury case and readers may not use the contents of this post as legal advice or guidance.