Provide Your Surgeon’s Report to a Dog Bite Lawyer
While the law requires medical professionals to report all dog bite cases for rabies tracking, they cannot provide legal guidance. The first phase of your child’s dog bite case is to speak with a dog bite lawyer about your surgeon’s advice. The lawyer will review the documents provided by your surgeon and their recommendations on the medical care your child requires and then estimate the potential value of your case, should you pursue the dog owner and their insurance company in the New Jersey justice system. When booking your initial case consultation with the dog bite lawyer, the lawyer can consult with your medical team regarding your child’s condition and prognosis. These initial consultations and communications between the attorney and your child’s doctor are often pivotal in establishing a clear dog bite case and securing a fair settlement in the earliest possible time frame.Begin Tracking All Expenses Involved in Your Child’s Medical Care
Beyond the surgical fees you’ve paid to your child’s surgeon and their medical office, several other expenses may comprise a dog bite case settlement. Track the following to ensure you benefit from the value of any potential settlement:Travel Costs
Include all expenses incurred while taking your child to their appointments. Expenses include gas costs and parking fees.Time Off Work
Parents with children facing surgery after a dog attack often have to take several days off work to attend to their care. Collect copies of all time off requests and confirmations from your employer. The dog bite settlement should include lost pay due to these enforced work absences.Psychological Care Costs
Psychological care is critical to helping your child manage the trauma associated with their dog attack. Your dog bite lawyer will consider your child’s range of mental health care expenses during negotiations with the dog owner’s insurance company. Ensure you collect all bills from the psychologist’s clinic and provide them to your lawyer for case documentation.Changes in Routine and Behavior
Changes to your child’s behavior, activities, and daily routine can be the result of dog bite trauma. When tracking your expenses, remember to note any of your child’s recent changes. The symptoms of anxiety and resulting changes in social interactions and reduced quality of life can also be factors in receiving a higher settlement for your child from their dog bite case.Maintain Medical Appointments and Contact with Your Child’s Lawyer
After submitting your expenses, you can leave the settlement negotiating work to your dog bite lawyer, who will communicate with the insurance company. Ensure you direct all inquiries from the insurance company to your dog bite lawyer so they can respond clearly and effectively while protecting your child’s rights. You should also ensure your child attends every appointment before and after their dog bite surgery. Not only will doing so help ensure the doctor has a clear insight into the progress of your child’s condition, but it will also help protect your child’s case against claims by the insurance company that the injury is not as serious as it appears.
Types of Settlement for Child Dog Bite Injuries
Victims who win settlements in their dog bite cases have two settlement payment options: structured settlements and lump sum trusts.The Benefit of Structured Settlements
Structured settlements help parents plan for their child’s future. The settlement can disburse funds at specific stages in their growth or when the child requires future surgery as part of their long-term recovery. Organizing settlements in this way gives children and their families access to recovered damages while providing a steady income stream as the child ages.The Benefit of Lump Sum Trusts
Lump sum trusts are another option for protecting the proceeds of a dog bite settlement until the child reaches adulthood. This settlement style allows all funds to be placed immediately into a trust, to which only legal guardians have access. Legal guardians with access to the lump sum trust must apply to the courts to use the funds and show their use of the funds benefits the child victim. You can read more about the various types of settlement agreements in our recent post regarding friendly hearings in New Jersey.The New Jersey Dog Bite Lawyer Is Here for Your Family
New Jersey dog bite lawyer David Cowhey recognizes the impact dog bite cases have on the child’s family and their local community. He offers a sensitive, compassionate approach to securing settlements for your child’s dog bite injury case. As the state’s foremost dog bite attorney, David Cowhey is the New Jersey lawyer with the most six-figure dog bite settlements, highlighting his unbending approach to negotiating claims with insurance companies and powerful client advocacy in the courtroom.
Put over 40 years of dog bite litigation experience to work behind your child’s dog bite case. Request your free, no-obligation dog bite case review with David Cowhey.
