Tampa Dog Bite Lawyer

The average dog’s jaw can clamp down at around 320 pounds per square inch, according to Animal Planet. While that number varies widely depending on the size and breed of dog, it is still almost three times as much pressure as a human’s jaw, which is fairly weak among the animal kingdom. Indeed, 320 pounds of pressure per square inch can cause serious trauma to soft tissue, especially during a prolonged bite and shake attack. Of the millions of dog bite victims that seek medical attention every year, many were bitten accidentally while attempting to break up a dog fight, or the bite, although painful and damaging, was quick and inflicted out of fear and self defense. When a dog attacks, the results can be much more severe, and often cause permanent scarring, disfigurement, chronic pain or disability, and long-lasting post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

When the victim is a young child, who happen to make up the largest demographic of dog attack victims, the attack can instill a lifelong fear of dogs. In Florida, it is the owner’s responsibility to keep their dog, whether it has a history of aggression or not, under control at all times. This means that if their dog attacks a person in public, they will be held responsible. Likewise, if the attack occurred on their private property to a person that was there legally, the owner will be held liable. This often means that their dangerous dog will be put down and that they will be financially responsible for compensating the injured party. There is a four year statute of limitations for dog bite attacks in Florida, meaning that a victim or victim’s family will have four years to file a civil lawsuit from the date of the attack. Contact our Tampa dog bite lawyers for more information or assistance today.

Florida’s Bad Dog Signage Skirts Liability in Some Cases

There are a few conditions in which a vicious dog’s owner may counter a civil lawsuit and liability for their dog’s attack. The first is if they can make a successful argument that the victim provoked the dog, in which case blame may be placed on the dog (dog’s owner) and the victim under Florida’s comparative negligence or “shared blame” clause. The other argument that could possibly be made is if the victim was attacked on the dog owner’s property, they were there lawfully, and signage was posted that said “bad dog” or “beware of dog.” The bad dog signage must be posted in prominent sight and easily readable, under Florida statute 767.04. However, if the victim is too young to read (they were under six years old at the time of attack), this exception is not valid.

An Aggressive and Experienced Dog Bite Lawyer for Tampa Dog Attack Victims

If you or a loved one was attacked by a dog of any kind in any manner, and the attack caused serious injury, call The Pendas Law Firm at 1-844-200-0000 today to talk with one of our Tampa dog bite lawyers about the financial compensation that you deserve. We will help you throughout each step of your case.