When a Dog Bites Your Child

By Jason Bottlinger on November 11, 2021

When a dog attacks a child, it is a traumatic experience for the parents as well as the child. It is important to remain calm and get medical care for your child as soon as possible. Your child’s health and wellbeing are the top priority. The following are the steps you should take if a dog bites your child.

Get Your Child to a Doctor

Even if your child’s injuries seem minor, dog bites that puncture the skin can lead to serious infections. Seeing a doctor is important, not only to get treatment for your child’s injuries, but also to document the dog bite incident. Dogs tend to bite smaller children in the face. Any bite to the face is likely to require some type of surgical or other medical treatment in the future. Dog bites can cause painful injuries and scarring. The importance of prompt medical attention cannot be overstated.

Identify the Dog and Its Owner

In many cases, dogs and their owners are known to victims. Dogs often bite friends, relatives, or neighbors of their owners. If you are not familiar with the dog and its owner, it may be necessary to investigate to find out who they are. If you do not know who the dog belongs to, animal control should be able to find out.

Report the Incident to Animal Control

Contact the animal control authorities in your area and file a written report on the dog bite incident. Do not rely on the doctor’s office or hospital to take care of this for you. The reports they file are for different purposes than your own. An animal control investigation is important in some cases to identify the dog’s owner. Reporting the incident makes it possible for authorities to deal with the dangerous animal.

Speak with an Omaha Dog Bite Lawyer

The next step is to find an attorney to represent you in a dog bite claim. Our legal team can help you get your child’s medical bills paid, both now and in the future. We can help you pursue compensation for income lost because of time away from work dealing with your child’s injuries, and for other losses. Your best chance of recovering full compensation is to have an experienced Omaha dog bite attorney managing your case.

How to Investigate a Nebraska Dog Bite Incident

After a dog bite incident, a preliminary investigation can be done by the family, or by the lawyer for the victim or a private investigator. The purpose of the investigation is to obtain and record the following information:

• Street address of the location of the dog attack
• Description of the dog
• Name and address of the dog’s owner
• Name and address of any person who had control or custody of the dog at the time of the attack

Nebraska has strict liability dog bite laws, meaning the owner is liable for injuries or damages caused by the dog regardless of negligence. For this reason, it may not be necessary to obtain information about the dog’s history of viciousness or the owner’s knowledge of these tendencies. Depending on the circumstances of your case, your attorney may want to conduct or direct additional phases of investigation into matters such as ownership of the dog or negligence on the part of a landlord or a store owner.

Bottlinger Law L.L.C. was founded in 2013. Attorney Jason Bottlinger has been practicing since 2006. We can provide you with strong and compassionate legal representation in a dog bite case. If your child has been attacked and bitten by a dog, call us at (402) 505-8234 to find out how we can help.