“How much is my dog bite case worth?” is one of the first questions people who have been injured in a dog attack ask themselves once they have come to terms with what just happened to them.
“Calculating the value of a dog bite case can be tricky because, in order to determine the exact amount of money that you can recover, you need to consider many factors in your particular case,” explains our Los Angeles dog bites attorney at Law Offices of Howard Kornberg.
Since California is one of few states that follow the “strict liability” doctrine, dog owners are held liable for most dog bite injuries. In fact, if you were bitten by a dog in Los Angeles or elsewhere in California, you will not have to prove the dog owner’s negligence to be compensated for your injuries, losses, and damages.
Economic and non-economic losses after a dog bite
But let’s get back to our original question. How to determine the value of your dog bite case? Those of you who want to calculate how much your case is worth should know that you will most likely be entitled to be reimbursed for all the medical expenses incurred as a result of the dog bite.
And while it is somewhat easy to determine the value of your dog bite settlement by adding up all of the economic damages, including but not limited to medical bills, loss of income, out-of-pocket expenses, and others, calculating non-economic damages can be a herculean task.
How to calculate the value of your dog bite case?
What are those non-economic losses? Our experienced dog bites attorney in Los Angeles explains that you can be compensated for pain and suffering, mental anguish, and any emotional trauma caused by the dog attack. Do keep in mind that you need a skilled lawyer to evaluate the scope of your non-economic damages and put them into a dollar value.
More often than not, victims of dog bites are eligible to recover from pain and suffering damages and other non-economic losses. In order to calculate your non-economic damages, you will have to demonstrate the extent of physical pain and emotional hardship suffered on a daily basis. That daily amount of physical and emotional pain and suffering will then be multiplied by the number of days you have had to endure the pain and suffering.
Your dog bite case might be worth from $10,000 to $1,000,000
Although it is impossible to determine exactly how much money you can recover in your dog bite case, you can get an approximate figure by adding up the economic losses and non-economic damages. Some dog bite cases are worth $10,000, while others can be valued as high as $100,000.
Our Los Angeles dog bites lawyer from the Law Offices of Howard Kornberg says that in the most extreme cases, dog bite-related settlements via insurance coverage and awards via litigation can reach millions of dollars (more than $1,000,000). More often than not, these multi-million-dollar dogs bite settlements include permanent disfigurement and/or scarring, permanent loss of certain bodily functions, amputations, paralysis, death, and other long-term and severe physical, mental, or emotional conditions or trauma. All of the above-mentioned can maximize the value of your dog bite case.
Some of you might wonder, “What makes a dog bite case worthless?” Answering this question, our dog bites lawyer in Los Angeles says that if the dog owner can prove that you provoked the dog or in any other way contributed to the dog attack or “assumed the risk” of the dog bite, the value of your claim will be either significantly reduced or your claim will be denied altogether.
Schedule a free consultation with our lawyers to calculate the value of your dog bite case. Contact the Law Offices of Howard Kornberg by calling 310-997-0904 and get a free case evaluation. Let our attorneys determine how much your particular dog bite case is worth.
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