What to Expect From a Tampa Dog Bite Claim
After a dog bite in Tampa, the first thing an individual needs to do is serve the owner of the dog. After that, the individual must follow along with the court papers and provide discovery to that owner. During this process, the dog owner will be asked how long they have owned the dog, if the dog has ever injured anybody else, and if there are any insurance policies on the house that an attorney can examine.
There are many other elements that must be determined after a dog bite accident in Tampa. To better understand what to expect from a Tampa dog bite claim, it is imperative that an individual consults with an attorney as soon as possible. An experienced Tampa dog bite lawyer can help gather the evidence necessary to help successfully recover on their client’s behalf.
Gathering Evidence
When determining the crucial factors in a Tampa dog bite claim, an attorney will ask the offending party questions in written form, and once they get their answers back, then they can set up the deposition of the dog owner. These questions are asked face to face, and are recorded by a court reporter. This is considered testimony under oath going forward.
An attorney will conduct the same process with the potential witnesses. Any witnesses they want to call for a deposition, an attorney can get their statements down, recorded, and under oath. Then, a lawyer can set up their case to show the other party that they an easily prove liability and any available damages. This entire process if known as discovery.
Severity of Injuries
The severity of an individual’s injuries can have an influence on what to expect from a Tampa dog bite claim. The more severe the person’s injuries are, usually, the more expensive their treatment is. If somebody is paying for treatment out of their pocket, they may not have enough money to properly treat themselves. This can force the individual to take the dog owner to court to prove it.
This works the same way if an individual’s injuries are smaller. If the injuries are not that severe, then the case can normally be settled outside of court.
Filing a Claim
Whenever a person files a lawsuit, there are both positives and negatives that can result from that filing. There is the chance that the individual wins the case, all of their medical bills are recovered, and they will get money for their pain and suffering and any future pain and suffering, as well as future medical bills.
However, the person must also be aware that if they lose, the other side may be entitled to court costs and attorney fees. Because of this, the person has to be careful about taking a case too far. If the person’s injuries are not severe and they make the individual reasonable offer, the injured party may want to take that offer and settle the case.
If they do not make a reasonable offer, then it may be worth it to take the risk to go forward in the case before a jury and a judge and try the case. It is important for an individual to understand this, as it is important to properly know what to expect from a Tampa dog bite claim.
Multiple Defendants
If there are multiple defendants in a Tampa dog bite case, then the individual can put them all in the same lawsuit. If somebody owns the dog and is responsible for the dog, then the liability claim will be straightforward. However, if someone else was watching the dog that day, and they did not have them properly restrained, then the person may be able to sue them for negligence.
There could be multiple people that a person sues in a dog bite case, but they could file this all in one complaint. Depending on the number of defendants in a dog bite case, it is important that an individual knows what to expect after filing their claim in Tampa.