The most common injuries from dog attacks are scars, wounds, cuts, and similar injuries. Dog attacks are quite different from other types of personal injury matters because the injuries may only need one or two treatments.
Many times all the doctor can do is clean and suture the wounds. There may be additional pain for the patient, but other than pain medications not much can be done. All that’s left is the healing process and to see if scarring will occur.
A dog-bite victim will sometimes have wounds that are unsightly – it’s understandable that the victim doesn’t want to deal with the effects for the rest of his or her life. They may feel that they look “branded” or the wound may be in a noticeable area that people will see.
Dog bites often occur in the extremities – arms, legs, and even in the head. This means scarring from dog attacks will usually occur in locations of the body where it will be visible to the public. However, there are options to address the issue with scarring, however.
Plastic Surgery
In these cases, plastic surgery may be an option. A plastic surgeon may be able to smooth out the scar and make it blend in better with the healthy, undamaged skin to make it less noticeable. There are many types of treatment that the plastic surgeon may recommend like revisions, injections, and surgeries. Many factors like the thickness of the scar, size, location and pigment of the skin will determine the success rate of the treatment. A victim should wait a few months after a dog attack for a plastic surgery evaluation. A dog bite scar takes some time before it completely heals.
It’s important to note that plastic surgery isn’t typically a perfect fix. In many cases, the procedure will make the scarring less noticeable but may not remove it completely. Even so, many clients that are victims of a dog attack will be interested in this type of treatment.
Damages Factors
Medical costs from a dog bite related injury are going to be relatively low. The patient has one or two visits to the doctor, and then a possible follow up with a plastic surgeon to address the scars with future costs for potential surgeries. A dog bite victim can be compensated for both past and future medical care.
Beyond that, the victim can be compensated for pain and suffering from having to deal with the wound. Pain and suffering includes with difficulties in dealing with the injury and any resulting scarring. The severity of the bite, size and thickness of the scars frequently impacts the results of the case. Bigger scars tend to lead to larger compensation because they have more of an impact on the victim’s life after the incident. The location of the scar will also be taken into consideration. Is the scar in a noticeable place or can it easily been hidden from view? For example, a large scar on the face will typically see more compensation than one where the scar is small and on the upper leg, where clothing may hide it.
To sum it up, damages on a dog bite case are based on the number of bite wounds, the location of the scars, the size of the scars, medical bills, any future care (usually plastic surgery) that will be needed, and pain and suffering.