If you’ve been the victim of a dog bite, as well as being traumatised and upset, you may also want to seek dog bite compensation.
A dog bite is a personal injury and as such is subject to personal injury claims just like other injuries. A dog bite is the most common animal attack for personal injury claims in the UK.
What to do if you’ve been a victim of a dog bite
1. Report it
Contact the police as soon as possible after the bite and report the attack. Give as much information as you can to the police and get a crime reference number.
2. Seek medical help
When you’ve been attacked make sure you seek medical treatment for your bite. This will get the treatment you need, but the doctor will also write a medical report which could be used for dog bite claims.
3. Take photos of your injuries
As soon as you can after your attack, take as many photos as you can of your injury.
4. Take detailed notes
Again, as soon as you can after your attack, write down as much as you can about the incident. Where were you, what was the time of date. Describe the dog and the owner. Was the dog on or off a lead? What were you doing at the time? Where was the bite? What did the owner do after the incident?
5. Get the details of the owner
If you can, take down the name and contact details of the owner of the dog.
6. Get witness details
If anyone witnessed the attack, ask them to provide a witness statement and their contact details. This will help your claim.
If the dog that bit you is an illegal or banned dog breed in the UK, you could receive a greater amount of compensation.
Banned dog breeds are the Fila Brasileiro, the Dogo Argentino, the Japanese Tosa and the Pit Bull Terrier. This is why it’s important to also take pictures of the dog and its owner if you can safely do this, as well as make detailed notes as soon as you can.
The next step after you’ve undertaken the above is to contact a personal injury solicitor to register your claim and get further advice.
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