Your Neighbor's Dog Just Bit You! Now What?

Living next to a neighbor with a dog might not affect your life too much, but if that dog bites you one day, you might experience a number of different emotions. If you think you may pursue legal action against your neighbor because of the incident, get the following things done as soon as possible.

Take Snapshots

Before you make any attempts to clean the wound or bandage it, it is vital that you create photographic evidence of what the dog did to you. It can be difficult to prosecute dog bite cases without vivid proof of the injuries that took place, so be sure to get out your camera or smartphone and take a number of photos from different angles to bolster your claims.

Get to Your Primary Care Physician

As soon as you're able, contact your primary physician and make an appointment to be seen. Your health care provider can provide additional documentation for your case by describing the wound, its severity and what steps you'll have to take in order to recover properly.

Not only can your physician back up your claims about your dog bite wound, they can also ensure that you aren't suffering from tetanus or other diseases as a result of the interaction with the dog. If you have had a fever, bad headache or other health issues that set in after the dog bite, be sure to mention it.

Talk with Witnesses

If your spouse, another neighbor, or other witness was present when you were bit, you may want to talk to them about what happened. You can encourage them to write up a statement that you can use when you file your claim. You may also want to jot down details that you might remember about what happened too.

Get an Attorney

You may be considering small claims court for your case, so you might not be thinking about retaining a lawyer because of the bite. However, a lawyer with experience in this area can ensure that you have the best possible outcome. They can also take over communication with the neighbor who owns the dog, as conversations with you could become contentious and make the situation more problematic.

Getting bit by a dog that belongs to your neighbor can be uncomfortable in many ways. Take the steps here and work with a personal injury lawyer to get a settlement you can be satisfied with.