Is it too late for my dog bite case?
Recently, my friend Sara reached out for some advice.
Question:
Hi Jim, I need some advice. About six months ago, I was jogging on my usual route when a dog ran up and bit me. I wasn’t doing anything to provoke it—just jogging—and I even tried to give the dog space. The weird thing is, the dog wasn’t even properly leashed. It had the leash in its mouth while the owner was distracted, looking at his phone.
The bite was really bad. The dog wouldn’t let go for what felt like forever before the owner got it off. There was a lot of bleeding, and the pain was easily the worst I’ve ever felt. I ended up calling 911 and going to the ER. The doctor said there might be permanent damage, and my medical bills got really expensive to treat and rehab it, way more than I can afford.
I got the owner’s contact info at the time, but now he’s ignoring me. I’ve tried reaching him through calls, texts, emails, and even looked for his workplace, but no luck. It’s not fair that I should be stuck with all these bills when this wasn’t my fault, and I’m ready to take legal action.
It’s been 3 months though. Is it too late to file a lawsuit? What can I do now?
Answer:
Hey Sara! I’m so glad you reached out; that must have been a terrible experience.
It is not too late for your case. The statute of limitations (the legal deadline) for filing most personal injury lawsuits– like car accidents, and dog bites– is 2 years. So there’s still time!
Typically when a client comes in with a dog bite case, or any personal injury case, we need to assess the damages and get the client treatment if needed. We let the other party know that we represent the client in order to discuss next steps.
In your case, we would contact the owner to let them know we’re representing you and intend to sue. This usually gets us working with their home insurance, at which point we can discuss your claim and argue for how much compensation your case is worth.
As long as we make a demand before the statute of limitations, we won’t run the risk of harming your case.
Hope that helps!
-Jim
Further reading:
To learn more about what counts as “damages” in a personal injury claim, click this link here: Types of Damages in a Personal Injury Claim — Win Nguyen Law
To learn more about the statute of limitations for civil lawsuits, such as dog bite or car accident lawsuits, click this link: What is the Statute of Limitations for Personal Injury Cases in California?
