While dog bites and animal attacks may not immediately spring to people's minds when it comes to personal injury cases, these types of injuries can be quite serious and often require extensive care and time for recovery. In Rhode Island, to make matters even more complicated, there are unique state laws that figure into the equation.
Rhode Island has a "one bite free" policy in which dog owners cannot be held accountable if they had no prior knowledge of the animal's affinity for biting and the injury occurs on their property. If, however, the dog bites a second time, damages in a civil suit brought against the owner can be double.
Further still, pet owners can be held accountable if an individual is damaged not as a result of a bite or an attack, but is injured simply by virtue of being in the vicinity of an out-of-control animal that interacts with his or her pet causing an injury.
When entering into the complex arena of Rhode Island animal bite and confrontation law, it's critical to partner with an experienced Providence dog bite injury attorney who can scrutinize the details of the case and move toward a best-possible resolution.
Rhode Island Animal Attack Attorney
For over 75 years, we at the firm of Kirshenbaum & Kirshenbaum have worked as lawyers with personal injury victims and to date have secured over a million dollars annually for our clients. We're intimately familiar with Rhode Island animal bite and confrontation law and are ready to work with you one-on-one to move toward a best possible resolution in your case.
One example of our successful results:
Our client was in her own yard, holding her dog. A dog from the neighborhood became loose and entered our client's property. The two dogs lunged at each other, but no contact was made. Neither dog touched, nor did they touch our client. However, the turmoil knocked our client to the ground, causing serious injury. The insurance carrier representing the neighboring dog's owner fought our client's claim. They insisted that there was no contact, and that the neighboring dog did not cause the injury. We filed suit and obtained a policy limits settlement of $300,000 for our client. Our client was not even required to make an appearance in court.
To discuss any aspect of your animal injury case in a free initial consultation, call 401-680-9119 or e-mail us here.
