Pain and Suffering from Dog Bites in Michigan

Our dog bite lawyers at Buckfire & Buckfire, P.C. handle cases involving pain and suffering damages from dog bites and dog attacks in Michigan.  Pain and suffering damages are the right to compensation for physical pain and suffering and mental anguish you have suffered and could possibly endure in the future.  This accounts for many of the damages that are recovered and are in addition to the economic damages, such as medical bills, and lost wages the victim suffers due to the attack.  Victims of dog bite injuries and attacks who suffer serious pain and suffering do have legal rights under Michigan law.

United States dog bite statistics show there are 68 million domestic dogs in the country. Out of these 68 million dogs there are 1 million dog bites reported every year.  It is also estimated that an equal or greater number of bites go unreported each year.  Some level of medical attention is required for 800,000 of those who suffer a dog bite injury.

Pain and suffering, is also known as non-economic damages. Pain and suffering damages generally include compensation for:

• Physical pain and suffering
• Mental anguish
• Fright and shock
• Denial of social pleasure and enjoyments
• Embarrassment, humiliation or mortification

A victim of a dog bite who suffers serious pain and suffering should file a claim for the damages suffered against the dog owner.  Michigan law holds the person who owns, keeps, or harbors the dog responsible for a dog bite or attack, regardless of prior knowledge (known as “strict liability” laws) of the viciousness of the animal.  In these types of lawsuits, the dog owner’s homeowner’s insurance company usually pays a settlement to the dog bite victim.

Proving these claims to the insurance company or a jury takes significant experience by an experienced lawyer.  There are certain methods of presenting these “invisible” injuries to the insurance company or jury that allow them to realize the pain the victim has suffered and to best understand how these injuries have impacted the life of both the victim and the surrounding family. Our dog bite injury lawyers have proven again and again that they have the skill and ability to win significant dog bite injury settlements and verdicts for our injured clients.

Give us a call for more information about pain and suffering from dog bite injuries in Michigan.