Most dog bite claims end up being settled out of court. As a result, the average settlement for a dog bite case ranges from $55,000 to $65,000, but your specific settlement can vary quite a bit depending on the facts.
The personal injury attorneys at Stone Rose Law have negotiated many dog bite settlements for our Arizona clients. In this post, we cover some of the considerations that go into negotiating a settlement amount that provides you with fair compensation if you are the victim of a dog-related injury.
To learn more about how Stone Rose Law can help you after a dog bite incident, call us at (480) 498-8998 to talk with one of our experienced dog bite lawyers and schedule a free consultation.
Dog bite case settlements happen for the same reasons most other personal injury claims do not go to trial. These reasons include:
Settling a dog injury case presents several possible advantages compared to a trial. These comparative advantages are often compelling for both the plaintiff and the defendant.
Often, when the facts of the dog bite incident are not in dispute, and your injuries are not severe, your personal injury attorney can informally negotiate a settlement with the dog owner’s attorney and the insurer.
This might take just a few weeks compared to months of pretrial preparation. Even if a more formal means of non-judicial dispute resolution are needed, like mediation or arbitration, these almost always lead to faster results than litigating the matter in formal trial proceedings.
Negotiating settlements with insurance companies often avoids the need for pretrial litigation, including depositions and other kinds of pretrial discovery. There is often no need to file a legal complaint, undergo pretrial discovery processes like depositions, or file motions with the court.
If the parties can reach a settlement amount, all that is usually necessary is for the lawyers to draw up a settlement agreement where, in exchange for agreeing not to file a lawsuit, the plaintiff receives a settlement amount from the defendant’s insurer, from the defendant personally, or a combination of both.
Because a settlement offers both sides advantages compared to a trial, plaintiffs and defendants often have mutual incentives to see that settlement negotiations succeed.
For example, plaintiffs do not want to risk losing their claim if a jury decides against them, and defendants do not want a jury to decide to award the plaintiff a huge judgment that exceeds their insurance coverage leaving the defendant’s personal assets exposed.
The parties, their lawyers, and the insurance adjuster will all have considerably more influence in shaping a fair compensation settlement agreement than running the risk that a jury or judge will produce an unpredictable and possibly disadvantageous result.
Although this does not guarantee that settlement negotiations will always be cordial, a more non-adversarial dispute resolution environment encourages all sides to try to reach a fair outcome quickly so everyone can move on with their lives and you can get the compensation you need to indemnify you for your loss.
Lastly, as long as both sides adhere to the terms of the settlement agreement, there is less chance that a party who is dissatisfied with the outcome will seek to appeal it through the legal system compared to a jury verdict.
Although plaintiffs’ lawyers frequently work on a contingency fee basis, the relative informality of settlements compared to trials means that many of the costs ordinarily associated with trial preparation can be avoided. In some settlements, payment of lawyers’ fees can be part of the terms of the agreement.
Overall, because out-of-court settlement is usually faster, simpler, and more certain than risking litigation, it is typically a much less costly option for everyone involved.
Ultimately, dog bite cases are generally a subset of personal injury claims.
What this means is that most of the factors that determine the value of a dog bite settlement will be the same as for any other kind of injury, like a motor vehicle accident, a slip-and-fall accident, or other harm resulting from someone else’s negligence.
The more serious the injury to you, likely the higher your settlement amount will be.
Less serious injuries, like scrapes, bruises, joint sprains from falling down when a big dog jumps on you, or minor dog bites will not command the same levels of settlement amount claimed as puncture wounds, nerve damage, broken bones, or facial scarring from being mauled by a dog.
Similarly, a minor injury may be something that can be treated with a tetanus vaccination shot and you can largely forget it ever happened.
But in addition to physical injuries, a severe dog attack can lead to long-lasting emotional distress, anxiety, loss of sleep, lost wages from being unable to work, long-term physical or rehabilitative therapy, and even post-traumatic stress disorder. All of these are compensable in a settlement amount, but again, you have to be able to prove your damages.
In the worst situation imaginable, someone you love, like a child, can even die as the result of a dog attack. This would be a wrongful death claim and, in a settlement, would command a higher level of compensation.
Arizona is a strict liability state when it comes to dog bite liability. Unlike some states that may still adhere to older concepts like the “One Bite Rule,” a dog owner will be accountable for injuries his or her dog inflicts, even if it’s a first-time incident.
As long as you can show at least the owner’s negligence in allowing the dog to hurt you, then you will have a claim for liability. This opens the door to compensation for economic and non-economic harm done to you.
Owner liability for a dog’s actions, including any dangerous propensities, is subject to different levels of culpability. For example, if the owner of a known aggressive dog like a pit bull allowed it to run free without a leash, this is a higher level of negligence that can even reach a level of recklessness if the dog’s dangerous propensities lead to severe injuries.
In cases where the owner intentionally meant for the dog to cause harm, this is purposeful behavior that can lead to more severe liability, including possible punitive damages. A settlement agreement can include compensation for these kinds of damages if you can present evidence compelling enough that the dog owner and the insurer would conclude that you could prove them in court.
Generally speaking, if you can show the owner was liable and that the animal in question was a dangerous and/or aggressive dog, it will be easier to convince the owner to settle and agree to a higher settlement amount.
One feature of a court judgment award is that if the defendant cannot pay it all from cash and assets, you may be able to obtain a judgment lien for any outstanding amount owed to you. Generally, a settlement agreement will not include this type of long-term option.
What this means is that when you are negotiating a settlement amount, your attorney will need to keep in mind how much you can reasonably expect to get out of the defendant before you reach a point of diminishing returns or even impossibility to collect.
Factors your attorney will need to weigh will include whether the defendant has insurance that can pay all or part of the settlement claim, the defendant’s net worth, income from employment, other sources of income, savings, and assets that the defendant can sell to raise money to pay the settlement amount. Your lawyer will have the resources to gather these kinds of information for you, so you can be confident that you receive the maximum compensation possible.
Related to the consideration above of how liable the dog owner is, is the question of whether the owner can try to avoid liability at all.
To compel an insurance company adjuster and a defense lawyer to agree to settle and to pay you a fair settlement amount, your personal injury attorney must be able to convince them that if the matter goes to court, they will lose and lose substantially.
Accordingly, your lawyer will need to carefully assess the strength of any possible defenses to liability that the dog owner may raise and be able to counter them.
In Arizona, one common defense is the legal principle of “comparative negligence.” This principle can reduce how much you collect in compensation based on whether and how much you may have contributed to the dog bite incident happening and the severity of your injuries.
For example, questions the defense might raise can be whether you did anything to provoke the dog or whether you were on the dog owner’s property as a trespasser when you were injured.
In a court case, for example, if the court finds that you were 15% negligent and the dog owner was 85% liable for your injury, then the court will reduce your judgment award value by 15%.
Similarly, you should expect the dog owner’s insurance company and defense attorney to look for any way they can pin some of the blame onto you. This can become a point of contention in settlement negotiations and leads us to your final consideration.
Negotiations, whether in business, international relations, or a dog bite settlement, are in some ways an art form. There are opening claims, demand letters, opening settlement offers, and a variety of strategies and tactics that negotiators use to influence and persuade the other side in obtaining what they desire.
This is why it is important that the law firm you choose has experienced lawyers who are excellent negotiators as well as litigators.
If, for example, you have a family friend who is a lawyer but who specializes in transactional matters like business agreements, family law, or trusts and estates but has no experience in personal injury negotiations, that lawyer will be at a serious disadvantage in effectively presenting a serious and credible demand for settlement of a dog bite injury case.
Insurance company adjusters are skilled and savvy negotiators and have lawyers with similar skills. They have no legal obligation to see that you get everything you deserve; their loyalties are to the insurance company shareholders and the dog owner, respectively.
If they can persuade you to leave money on the table in settlement negotiations, they will do so. If they can do the same thing to an inexperienced lawyer you hire, they will do so.
There is no need to take that chance when you have legal representation from Stone Rose Law.
At Stone Rose Law, we know all about dog bite claims. We are also experts in the personal injury legal process.
Our Arizona personal injury attorneys have years of experience successfully negotiating settlements for dog bite victims.
If negotiations cannot get you the compensation you need through a fair settlement agreement, we can take your case to court and represent you in a dog bite lawsuit on a contingency fee basis. We don’t get paid unless we are successful in obtaining funds on your behalf.
To learn more about your options in the aftermath of a dog-related injury, you can call us at (480) 498-8998 or use our contact form to get a free consultation with one of our dog bite specialist attorneys.
