​DOG BITES AND ATTACKS
 
Approximately 1000 people in the United States require emergency treatment for serious dog bite injuries every day. About 9500 people in the US are hospitalized each year due to dog bite injuries. Dog bites and dog attacks can be especially traumatic. Dogs often bite or attack children and often bite the face and mouth. If you, a family member or friend are bitten or attacked by a dog, contact G.R. Johnson Law for a free consultation and we will make sure you get fully reimbursed for your injuries, medical bills, and pain and suffering.
 
5 TIPS FOR WHEN A DOG BITES OR ATTACKS

1. Report the Bite. Photograph the dog and your injuries
2. Seek medical treatment
3. Contact an Attorney
4. Getting your medical bills paid
5. Getting Money for Pain and Suffering

 
1. Report the Bite. Photograph the Dog and Your Injuries
 
In Central Oregon, report dog bites to the Deschutes County Animal Control at 503-693-6911. Oregon law requires your health care provider to report dog bites to the local health department using this form.
 
Dog bites and dog attacks are not the only types of incidents for which you can get compensation for your medical bills and pain and suffering. You can also get compensation if a dog knocks you down and you are injured as a result.
 
2. Seek Medical Treatment Immediately
Dog bites often result in severe infections as a dog’s teeth can puncture deep into your body leaving germs. Especially when the wound closes quickly an infection can result causing dog bite septicemia, sepsis or a blood infection. Sepsis can lead to tissue damage, organ failure, and death. 258,000 people in the US die each year from sepsis. If you see a red streak spreading from the wound, get to the hospital emergency room or urgent care center immediately.
 
Dog bites can also cause the spread of rabies which can be fatal so ask the dog owner, possessor or handler if the dog as been immunized for rabies. Let your medical provider know if you cannot confirm that as you may have to have a series of PEP (preventable serum) injections.

3. Contact a Lawyer
It’s important to hire an experienced dog bite attorney who has handled many dog bite and dog attack injury jury trials early in the process so he or she can make sure you don't say anything damaging to the insurance companies, can help you get your medical bills paid and can investigate the case and preserve the evidence to prove that the dog owner was at fault.

4. Get Your Medical Bills Paid
Often the insurance company for the dog owner will have MedPay or Medical Premises insurance coverage which will pay your medical bills even if the dog owner’s insurance company disputes that the dog owner was liable for your injury. This is no fault insurance coverage. Be sure to ask if there is MedPay or Medical Premises insurance coverage under the dog owner’s insurance policy.
 
5. Get Money for Pain and Suffering
Oregon Dog Bite Laws are complex but G.R. Johnson Law knows them and can help you get compensated for your injuries when you are attacked or bitten by a dog. Oregon Dog Bite Laws must be followed to prove that the dog owner or possessor was at fault for causing your injuries. A summary of those laws follows.
 
OREGON DOG BITE LAWS

• Oregon Law Creating Liability for Medical Expenses and Other Economic Damages

Oregon law ORS 31.360 makes it easier to prove that a dog owner or possessor is liable for the medical expenses and other economic damages you incur when you are injured by a dog. All you have to prove is that the dog owner or possessor did not use reasonable care to control or confine the dog. You do not have to prove that they knew or should have known that the dog would cause you physical injuries.

• Strict Liability for Abnormally Dangerous Dogs

Anyone in Oregon who possesses a dog that they know, or have reason to believe, is abnormally dangerous is liable when that dog injures someone. This is also known as the "One Bite Rule" because once a dog bites or attacks someone the owner knows they are abnormally dangerous. There are many ways to prove that a dog is abnormally dangerous. One way is to prove that the dog had bitten or attacked before. Some dogs are presumed to be abnormally dangerous based on their breed alone. Pit bulls and Rottweilers are the the 2 most deadly dog breeds in America.

Rottweiler

Pitbull

• Negligence

If you cannot prove that a dog is abnormally dangerous, you may still be able to prove that the dog owner or possessor was negligent. To prove that a dog owner was negligent you must prove that they knew or should have known that their dog would injure you if they did not use reasonable care to control or confine their dog and they failed to use such reasonable care.

• City and County Municipal Regulations Prohibiting Dogs “At Large”

Many cities and counties have municipal regulations requiring dog owners or possessors to keep their dogs from being "dog at large". It is important to find out where the dog bite or attack took place because different municipalities define "dog at large" differently. If a dog owner or possessor allows his or her dog to be at large in violation of one of these regulations that is what the law calls negligence per se. Negligence per se means that the dog owner or possessor was negligent unless they can prove that they were acting with reasonable care under the circumstances. So a dog owner or possessor is liable for your medical bills and pain and suffering if his or her dog was a "dog at large" in violation of a municipal regulation when it bit or attacked you unless he or she can show that he was acting with reasonable care even though his dog was at large.
 
Different cities and counties define "dog at large" differently. Within Bend, Madras, Redmond and Sisters Oregon a dog is "at-large" if it is not leashed, bridled or confined within a vehicle. Bend Code, Madras Ordinance, Redmond Municipal Code, Sisters Municipal Code.
 
The Deschutes County Code which applies outside the city limits provides that a dog is not "at-large" so long as it is under the complete control of the dog owner or another capable person even though the dog is not leashed, bridled or otherwise confined. The City of Prineville has a similar regulation. In other words, it is more difficult to prove that a dog was at large in Deschutes County outside the city limits or in the City of Prineville.