2 Things to Do If You Get Bitten By a Dog

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If you are bitten by someone else's dog, there are things that you are going to need to do so that you can get any medical costs covered as well as get money for pain and injury. Knowing what to do beforehand may help you stay calm and handle everything well in case you are bitten by someone else's dog. 

Identify the Dog's Owner

One of the things you are going to need to do is figure out who owns the dog. It may be obvious as to who the dog's owner is if there is only one person around or if you are at someone's house, but if you are somewhere where many people are congregated together with a lot of dogs, you may have to ask a few people. If you are lucky, you can find out immediately who owns the dog. The reason that you want to do that is so that you can get information from the owner. You need to know things like whether or not the dog has had all its rabies shots or whether there are other things that may cause problems later on. If you can find the owner, make sure that you get all their contact information. You may also want to get contact information from any witnesses just in case you need it, if you have the time. 

See a Doctor

Even if you don't think that the bite is a bad one, you need to go see a doctor for it. That's because you want to make sure that the bite is as clean as possible. Your doctor may want to make sure that you have antibiotics so that you don't get an infection in the area. More severe bites may require stitches or other repair work so that the wound can heal correctly. If you can't track down the owner of the dog, if the dog hasn't had their shots, or if you don't know who the dog is, your doctor may have to give you a series of rabies shots so that you are safe from getting that illness. 

If you do those things, and the owner doesn't want to pay any medical bills associated with the injury you received from their dog, you may have to see a lawyer who specializes in dog bites, such as one from the Law Office of Daniel E Goodman, LLC. The lawyer can help you come up with the money that you may be entitled to. 


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