Ohio Dog Bite Lawyer

What To Do if Dog Attack Caused an Injury

Video Transcript:

Michelle Martin: 

There's lots of head injuries, neck injuries. I love my puppy, I have a dog myself, but they can cause a lot of significant injuries.

Rob Rosenthal: 

If you or your child are attacked by a dog, what are your rights and how do you get help afterwards? We're gonna find out right now on this episode of Ask The Lawyer. My guest is Ohio attorney Michelle Martin, and I'll remind you right at the front, if you want to ask Michelle any questions about your situation, just go to askthelawyers.com, click the button at the top that says, Ask a Lawyer, it'll walk you right through the process, doesn't cost anything to ask your questions. Or, of course, you can call the phone number you'll see on the screen during our conversation. Michelle, it's always good to see you, thank you for helping us out.

Michelle Martin: 

Thank you, you as well, Rob. Thank you for having me.

Rob Rosenthal: 

So, dog bite injuries. How common are these? Is this something you've done some of in your practice?

Michelle Martin: 

Way more common than people would ever imagine, and to answer your question, yes. According to the Ohio Department of Health, what, just last year in 2020, we saw over 15,000, close to $16,000... I'm sorry, 16,000 dog bites recorded, and that was about 77% of all mammal bites in the state that year alone. What people don't understand is that homeowner's insurance and renters insurance can usually compensate victims for dog bites and they account for more than a third of all homeowner's plans in the United States, so they're very common. Very common.

Rob Rosenthal: 

Wow. It seems to me, and I could be wrong, that mostly it's more often than not is children that are bitten. Is that true?

Michelle Martin: 

Absolutely. You know, children are innocent, they believe that this is a dog, we can walk up, we can be friendly. They don't yet have that fear instinct that set in naturally a lot of the time.

Rob Rosenthal: 

Right.

Michelle Martin: 

So they'll walk up to a dog, not really asking the owner or making sure that it's safe, walk up and try to pet the animal, and if the animal isn't well trained, it doesn't know how to be around children, doesn't know how to behave, then he may respond out of fear as well, and then that can cause an injury to the child, as well as the parent that may attempt to save their child. Absolutely.

Rob Rosenthal: 

I've heard of a thing called a free bite when it comes to dog bites. What is that, and is that allowed in Ohio?

Michelle Martin: 

So in some jurisdictions... A free bite is allowable in some jurisdictions, not in Ohio, but what that means is if a dog doesn't have a reputation or a known propensity to attack, then a lot of the time the homeowner will get what's called a free bite, where now they have been placed on notice that their dog has the propensity to attack, and they won't be held maybe to the same standard as someone who... Their dog is continuing to attack other folks. So, in Ohio though, we have a one bite rule, so owners are gonna be liable for the injury the first time that their dog causes one.

Rob Rosenthal: 

Can sometimes these injuries be quite serious?

Michelle Martin: 

Absolutely. In my practice, I've honestly seen, especially to children because they're so small, dogs have easier access to them, they think they're about the same size, they think they're weighing the same, so they think they can almost take them, to be honest. And so if they're responding out of fear they're gonna jump on kids. I've seen a lot of, of course, mauled faces, so the facial injuries, the eye injuries, the substantial scarring. Most of the time you have dog bites, you're gonna have scarring whether it be substantial or minimal, you're gonna wanna check that out. There's lots of head injuries, neck injuries. I love my puppy, I have a dog myself, but they can cause a lot of significant injuries.

Rob Rosenthal: 

And I think when people hear about some of the more serious dog bite cases, and you read about them in the news or whatever, they're used to them being... There'll be criminal charges involved, but you're telling us there could be civil cases as well.

Michelle Martin: 

Absolutely. Of course you wanna go through the proper channels to make sure that anyone that's not caring for their animal properly, or improperly caring for their animal, and as a result the animal's behaviors are very violent, you wanna make sure that the criminal channels are actually followed and that you do everything that you can possibly do to make sure if the dog is being mistreated or someone doesn't really know how to care for the dog, that that dog is removed from the home, and can get the proper training that they need and that the homeowner, or the owner of the animal, is, of course, prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Because you are getting these significant injuries, and no one should be injured by an animal, animals are not naturally... Dogs aren't naturally angry. They, of course, are responsive. And so a lot of the times you'll see these significant dog bite injuries, you'll see these criminal cases that resolve as a result as it relates to the owner.

Michelle Martin: 

And while those do have a huge impact on the way in which the homeowner or the animal owner operates after, what's gonna be most important for the victim is going to be getting compensated and getting those injuries addressed as soon as possible. Because the criminal procedure can take some time and while that process is running its course, you also have an injured victim who's gotta have treatment, who's going to have injuries, is going to have medical bills, and they're gonna need someone to be able to help them. So the civil side of that is very helpful, to compensate injured victims.

Rob Rosenthal: 

What are some of the things that have to be proven to be successful in one of these cases, Michelle? Do you have to prove that the dog owner was negligent? Tell me about that a little bit.

Michelle Martin: 

So you have to prove that... It's a couple of different things, and the law can get a little tricky. But at the end of the day, you have to prove that the dog does have an actual owner, you're gonna wanna prove that the owner was aware that the dog was either out or had access to you. Their knowledge isn't really as important, but it's good to prove. In Ohio, we have what's called strict liability as it relates to dog bites, and what that means is if you're the dog owner and your dog harms or injures someone, then you're going to be held strictly liable. What that means is that we don't have to go through trying to... We don't have to go through an analysis where we discover whether or not there was some liability on behalf of the victim, instead just the fact that you own the dog... We've talked about this with negligence, per se. Just the fact that you own the dog, it gives you liability as it relates to any injury that ensues. In Ohio, being a one-bite state, you're gonna be on the hook at the onset. So there's a lot to prove, and in dog bite cases I found it to be the most helpful getting an attorney early on, because your injuries are gonna be so significant that you're gonna wanna make sure you're going to see your primary care physician, you're going to see your specialists, that you are addressing any type of psychological issues that might ensue.

Michelle Martin: 

A lot of my clients have had PTSD as it relates to injury. So you're gonna have a lot to prove up as it relates to damages, and so you're gonna wanna give someone knowledgeable so that they're able to introduce that information through evidence that we know would be admissible in a court of law.

Rob Rosenthal: 

Lots of really helpful information, Michelle, and answered a lot of questions. Thank you so much for helping us out.

Michelle Martin: 

Any time.

Rob Rosenthal: 

That's gonna do it for this episode of Ask The Layer. My guest has been Ohio attorney Michelle Martin. I remind you again if you'd like to ask Michelle questions of your own, go to askthelawyers.com, click the button at the top that says Ask a Lawyer, and it's absolutely free to ask any questions. Thanks for watching, everybody. I'm Rob Rosenthal for Ask The Lawyers.

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