As experienced Phoenix dog bite lawyers, we see the same types of stories occur over and over. Ask any personal injury lawyer, and he or she will tell you that some things are just dangerous. It is unfortunate how many cases occur where pit bulls or other dangerous canines attack and seriously injure or even kill children.
There is really no excuse for owners of potentially dangerous animals not to keep them restrained. Recently in Phoenix, two pit bulls attacked a postal worker who was just doing her job. Many people reading about this incident may ask themselves why these two dangerous animals were not contained, in addition to why people in the neighborhood, rather than the owners, had to save the innocent letter carrier.
Like other dog bite victims, this woman has a right to be compensated for her injuries. This includes compensation for lost wages, pain and suffering, medical bills associated with the dog attack, and any out of pocket expenses along the way. Arizona law allows a dog bite victim to sue the owner, and there is often recourse from the house insurance policy for the residence at which the animals should have been contained. An Arizona dog bite claim is not limited just to the property where the dogs should have been. In fact, victims of dog attacks have equal rights to pursue a claim that happened off the property.
On the other hand, Arizona dog bite law prevents any lawsuit to take place after two years. To make matters even more restrictive, somebody who has been attacked by a pit bull in Arizona must bring a lawsuit within one year of the date of the incident or they lose some of the legal protections they have. Therefore, while in theory a lawsuit can be brought up to two years after an attack, it is very much to the benefit of a dog bit victim to seek out a lawyer early enough that the investigation can be accomplished and the chance to file the lawsuit in less than one year can be pursued.
If you or a loved one has been attacked by a dog, and especially a pit bull, you may want to seek out an experienced lawyer soon enough after the incident to enable a lawsuit to be filed within a year, if necessary. It is our opinion at Breyer Law Offices, however, that such cases can and should instead be prevented, so that Arizona dog attacks become a rare event.
