contact us today (775) 789-4944 contact us today (775) 789-4944No matter what their breed is or what temperament they usually have, domesticated dogs are capable of causing serious and sometimes even life-threatening injuries to anyone they believe is threatening them or intruding on their territory. On top of that, Nevada differs from some other states in the sense that it does not hold dog owners automatically liable for any physical harm their pet causes to another person in every situation.
Neither of those facts mean it is impossible to get a favorable result from a civil claim built around a dog attack in the Silver State, especially if you have help from an experienced personal injury attorney. What it does mean, though, is that these cases tend to be more complicated in practice than most people expect them to be, so seeking help from a skilled Reno dog bite lawyer should be one of your top priorities after getting injured in this way.
Nevada state law approaches dog bite liability in a way that is often colloquially referred to as a “one-bite rule.” In brief, dog owners are not automatically liable for damages their dog causes to another person by biting and otherwise attacking them unless that dog has bitten or attacked someone at least once in the past. As a Reno dog bite attorney can further explain, though, dog owners may be liable for injuries that they allow to happen through their own negligence—for example, failing to ensure their dog is kept fenced on their private property and under control on a leash while outside that property.
Furthermore, if a dog that has already been designated as “dangerous” or “vicious” based on previous acts of aggression and then injures a new person by biting or attacking them, the dog’s owner will almost always be considered negligent per se, meaning they would automatically be liable for the bitten person’s damages. In both scenarios, though, any irresponsible behavior by a bitten person that contributed to causing a dog to bite them may be held against them as “comparative fault,” which could in turn lead to any settlement offer or damage award they receive being reduced in proportion to that percentage.
Additionally, Nevada state law does not give dog bite victims—or people injured through negligence in any other way, for that matter—an unlimited amount of time to file suit after initially sustaining harm. In fact, most people have a maximum of just two years after initially being bitten to start the litigation process, even if the bite incident leaves them with permanent and debilitating injuries.
This means it is often vital to identify and then estimate a fair value for certain losses well in advance of when they fully manifest, including things like lost working and earning capacity, future medical bills, and both physical and psychological forms of “pain and suffering.” This is another aspect of the dog bite lawsuit process in Reno which a capable attorney could provide irreplaceable assistance with.
They may be “man’s best friend” in most situations, but there are plenty of dogs and other domesticated animals who are not trained and socialized properly by their owners. Far from being friendly, those types of dogs can and do attack other animals and people—and if you have been injured through such an attack, you may need to act quickly and proactively to enforce your right to civil recovery.
Assistance from a Reno dog bite lawyer can make a massive difference in your odds of securing a positive case result under your unique circumstances. Call today to learn more.