Even if you are fortunate enough to walk away from a dog attack without serious injuries, the emotional and psychological trauma may persist for months or even years afterward. Additionally, if you suffer substantial physical harm, you may face numerous financial and personal losses that alter every aspect of your life.
Getting paid fairly for the effects of a dog attack ensures that you and your family are taken care of following an incident of this nature. Representation from a skilled dog bite lawyer can be crucial to maximizing available damages in Houston dog bite cases. Call Roberts Markland LLP today to learn more about damages in Houston dog bite cases.
What Are Possible Economic Damages After A Dog Bite?
Economic damages—losses with quantitative financial values that can be established through evidence like receipts and bills—caused by dog bites typically center around expenses for emergency medical treatment and short-term costs for prescription pain medications. However, it is also possible and often crucial to recover for future bills, including physical therapy costs, outpatient care, and emotional therapy to address post-traumatic stress and other mental anguish.
It can also be vital to consider how a severe dog bite might affect the victim’s ability to earn a living in the short and long term. For example, if an injured person in Houston cannot work while recovering from their harm, they may have to take time off work. Depending on the severity of an injury, dog bite victims may be unable to seek gainful employment following their attack. Additionally, any out-of-pocket expenses necessitated by long-term damage, including the costs of hiring in-home assistance, can be factored into a claim.
Recovering Non-Economic Damages Following A Dog Attack
Non-economic losses account for the physical pain and psychological suffering that stems from personal injuries in Houston. In the case of a serious dog bite, a comprehensive case may need to account for the pain and discomfort associated with physical injuries, including the loss of enjoyment of life that may come with long-term psychological trauma, including loss of consortium.
Are Punitive Damages Available In Houston?
Technically, it is possible for someone injured by a dog bite in Houston to receive punitive damages in addition to compensation for their economic and non-economic losses. However, courts only award punitive damages when a defendant engages in fraud or displays intentional malice or gross negligence. Often, demanding punitive damages for dog bite cases can be difficult, unless a dog owner orders their dog to attack someone else without provocation.
Additionally, state law limits the total amount of punitive damages plaintiffs can receive to twice the value of economic damages plus the value of non-economic damages up to a maximum value of $750,000. Therefore, if that sum is less than $200,000, the applicable cap on punitive damages would be $200,000.
A Houston Attorney Could Help Maximize Dog Bite Case Damages
Recovery from a dog bite is a long process that can become even more complicated by the financial cost of treatment and the personal cost of your pain and suffering. Fortunately, successful civil litigation against a dog owner whose negligence directly led to your harm could dramatically lessen the burden on you now and years in the future.
A seasoned legal professional at Roberts Markland LLP could explain how damages in Houston dog bite cases work during a private consultation. Schedule yours by calling today.