What To Do Immediately After A Dog Bite Incident

Dog bites are serious. Even minor dog bites can lead to serious consequences due to the unique bacteria found in a dog’s saliva. In addition to doing serious physical damage, a dog bite puts you at risk for infection and can cause long-term psychological damage. In California, the dog’s owner is strictly liable for all damages resulting from a dog bite, which means the owner is 100% responsible for your medical bills and other damages. 

Connecting with a personal injury lawyer can help you determine the best steps to ensure you are adequately compensated. Remember: dogs that bite may have a history and are prone to biting again. It is essential that the owner of these dogs take full responsibility for their pet’s actions and pursue steps to take stakes to ensure someone else does not get hurt or worse.

Five Steps To Take After A Dog Bite

As with any accident or event leading to an injury, safety is the top priority. Additionally, time is of the essence when it comes to securing the information you will need in order to take action against the dog’s owner after you have received appropriate medical attention.

Gather all the evidence you can (pet owner information, photos, witness information, etc.)

If you feel safe doing so, it is essential to get all of the information you can related to the incident. If you are not able to do this yourself, ask a family member or friend to help with this task. The more information you can obtain from the scene, the better off you will be when you are pursuing your claim. 

The information you need includes:

• The dog owner’s name OR the name of the person who was in charge of the dog at the time of the incident, their contact information, a photo of their identification card, driver's license, passport, etc. 
• Contact information for the dog’s primary veterinarian to confirm their vaccination records are up to date. 
• Pictures of the dog, the accident scene, and all of your injuries while they are fresh.
• Information from witnesses and bystanders who are willing to share that with you.
• The dog and/or homeowner’s insurance information. 

You should also contact the police to have a reliable police report taken in real time, rather than the day or two after the fact. 

Finally, you should report the dog bite to the city and county agencies. Dog owners often lie and say, “My dog’s never bitten anyone before…” when there is a history of them doing so. Filing a report helps to protect the general public and may result in information that the dog has bitten before. You can also request information as to whether the dog has a bite history that has been reported.

Use DIY first-aid while waiting to visit urgent care, etc.

If you have not already done so, take pictures of the injury site while they are fresh and then again after it is cleaned up. 

If possible, use basic first-aid skills to treat the wounds until you can be seen by a doctor. This includes:

• Completing a full body assessment, paying special attention to other areas that may have been injured as a result of falling, hitting your head, impacting objects nearby, etc.
• Slowing or stopping the bleeding by applying pressure with a soft, dry cloth.
• Washing minor to moderate wounds with fresh water and a mild soap. If possible, allow cold, fresh water to flow over the wound for at least three to five minutes. If skin is badly torn, cover it with a clean cloth and let medical personnel do the rest. 
• Band-Aids or bandages can be applied to help stop blood flow for the time being.

Dog bites typically result in any combination of four different types of wounds:

• Punctures. Punctures are caused by teeth going directly into the layers of skin without pulling or ripping. These can be some of the most dangerous because they are the most likely to become severely infected without proper medical treatment.
• Lacerations. Lacerations, cuts, or scrapes can occur due to teeth or dog claws tearing at the skin or from a fall during the dog bite or attack. These can be as simple as a small laceration or scraping of the first skin layer or two, or deep lacerations that require stitches.
• Minor abrasions or bruising. Most dog bites, even small nips, will result in some level of abrasion. It could be a bruise from the direct impact of the teeth (without breaking skin), their paws, or from falling on the ground.
• Avulsion. Avulsion wounds are more severe and occur when the skin and underlying connective tissue or muscles are torn. These wounds almost always need stitches and, depending on where they occur or the severity of the tear, may require plastic surgery.

Serious dog bites or dog attacks can be debilitating and may require time off work or from school (which means time off work for parents) while the patient heals.

Seek immediate medical treatment

Shock and the resulting rush of adrenaline can make you feel stronger and more physically able than you will be once the initial astonishment wears off and the severity of the bite wounds, lacerations, and other potential wounds sets in. Getting immediate medical attention ensures you have an accurate diagnosis, imaging (if necessary), and treatment to minimize infection or further injury risk.

Dog saliva often contains significant and dangerous bacteria. Puncture wounds from dog bites often harbor this bacteria and lead to severe infection, so washing them at home is not typically enough to flush out all of the bacteria and other debris. The best case scenario is heading directly to a local urgent care or an emergency room. Otherwise, do not wait more than eight hours to obtain medical attention, after which you are at a much higher risk for infection or related complications. In most cases, medical personnel will want to cleanse the area thoroughly, provide pain medication as needed, and start you on an antibiotic to minimize the risk of infection. 

Additionally, medical visits provide valuable documented evidence of the dog bite event in case you decide to pursue and file a personal injury case.

Contact a personal injury lawyer

Once you have obtained proper medical attention and understand the severity of the wounds, contact a personal injury attorney. At the very least, we can follow up with the dog’s owners and evaluate your options for legal action. When you pursue a dog bite claim, you will have the opportunity to pursue all damages flowing from the dog bite, which include economic and general damages such as:

• All related medical bills.
• Any fees spent for pain medications, bandaging/wound care, prescriptions, or physical therapy.
• Missed time off work.
• Financial support for psychological counseling or support if PTSD or fear of dogs is an issue (never underestimate the impact a dog bite incident has on children). Fear of dogs can become a lifelong issue and can stop them from wanting to go to parks, friends’ houses, or anywhere they feel dogs might be a threat.
• And so on.

During our initial discovery call, we can determine whether you have a case and the next best steps for moving forward.

Keep a close watch on the wounds

Again, dog bites are notorious for developing infections, which can spread to other areas of the body. As your wounds heal, you may also become aware of damage to your tendons or ligaments that was initially not obvious following the dog bite encounter. 

Do not hesitate to return to the doctor if:

• Pain, redness, and swelling get worse instead of better.
• The wound oozes yellow or greenish pus (some clear oozing is normal).
• You begin running a fever or experience other common signs of a fever or infection, like muscle aches, chills, headache, etc.
• Red streaks begin spreading out from the wound site.
• The wound starts to bleed again and will not stop within a reasonable amount of time.

Burneikis Law Can Help You Navigate A Dog Bite Incident

A dog bite incident is a scary and painful event. It can also be expensive, especially when medical bills or lost time at work are part of the equation. Contact Burneikis Law to learn more about your rights to file a legal claim.