Dog bites often happen unexpectedly and can lead to severe injuries. If you or somebody you love sustains a dog bite injury in Kentucky, then you need to know what steps to take to recover compensation for your losses. One of these steps may very well be contacting an attorney so that you understand your rights. A skilled dog bite injury lawyer will have extensive knowledge of all Kentucky laws surrounding these incidents, and they will be able to help you recover full compensation for your losses.

How Can a Dog Bite Attorney Help?

It is crucial for individuals who sustain a dog bite injury to contact an attorney as soon as possible. When an attorney gets involved quickly, they can begin gathering all of the evidence needed to prove what happened. An unfortunate reality of personal injury claims, including dog bite incidents, is that the evidence begins to disappear very soon after the incident occurs. Individuals throw away clothes that may have been damaged, the scene of the incident is cleaned, and video surveillance footage gets deleted. A Louisville dog bite attorney needs to step in and gather as much evidence as possible so they can use this during the insurance settlement process or at a personal injury trial period.

Additionally, an attorney can take over all communication with other parties involved, including the dog’s owner, their legal team, and any insurance carriers involved. Injury victims need to focus on recovering, not on talking to these other parties. Anything a person says after an injury occurs could end up being used against them, even if they do not realize it. All communication needs to be funneled through your attorney after a dog bite in Kentucky.

Kentucky Dog Bite Laws

When we examine Kentucky law regarding dog bite incidents, we can see that this is a “strict liability” state (KRS 258.235(4)). Under this law, “any owner whose dog is found to have caused damage to a person, livestock or other property shall be responsible for that damage.”

In most states that have strict liability dog bite flaws, the dog owner will only be held responsible for injuries caused by the actual bite. In Kentucky, however, the dog’s owner will be held liable for any injuries that their dog causes. So long as the injury victim was lawfully in the area where the bite occurred, the strict liability dog bite law in Kentucky applies.

It is important to point out that this law only applies to the dog’s owner, not a property owner or landlord. The law defines a dog “owner” as a person who:

1. Keeps or harbors the dog
2. Has the dog under their care
3. Permits the dog to remain on or around their premises

If the dog’s owner and the owner of the property where the incident occurred are different people, the dog bite victim will likely only be able to recover compensation from the dog’s owner.
A skilled dog bite injury lawyer in Kentucky will likely be able to recover compensation for an injury victim’s medical bills, lost wages if they cannot work, pain and suffering damages, and any property damage expenses incurred.