Westerville, Ohio, is a great place to go for a relaxing walk in the fresh air and sunlight, enjoying the Sycamore Trail Park’s many memorials to the Underground Railroad or visiting the town’s soon-to-be-restored Shinto Shrine. Unfortunately, the experience of going for a walk can be ruined in an instant if an aggressive dog attacks you. Dog attacks are frightening, painful, and often dangerous.
As much as we all love our dogs, training them right and keeping them under control so they don’t bite or hurt other people is essential. When a dog owner fails to do so, you can hold them accountable by taking them to court. A personal injury lawyer serving Westerville who has experience in dog bite cases can help.
Oliver Law Office is only 19 minutes from Westerville, so it’s easy to hop in the car and meet with us to discuss your case. If that’s inconvenient, we can drive to see you instead. If you’d prefer a video call, we’re happy to meet with you that way. If you need a dog bite lawyer in Westerville, Ohio, contact Oliver Law Office immediately.
A dog bite case is a type of personal injury case, but it’s handled differently from other personal injury cases under Ohio law. Most personal injury cases hinge on the question of negligence. That means you can only collect damages if the other party didn’t do something a reasonable person would have done in the same situation or did do something a reasonable person wouldn’t have done. Your attorney’s job in a personal injury case is to convince a jury that the at-fault party was negligent.
Not so with dog bite cases. In Ohio, dog bites are a matter of strict liability, which means the owner is liable even if they made no mistakes and had no reason to think their dog would attack you. In a dog bite case, you can collect damages for:
Medical expenses
Lost income for time off work
Pain and suffering
However, Ohio does limit your damages under its strict liability law. The dog owner is liable for your losses but will not have to pay punitive damages.
You may be able to ask for punitive damages if the dog had previously been given a designation because of its aggressive behavior. There are three types of designated dogs:
A dog can be designated as a nuisance for menacing people or chasing them.
A dog can be designated as dangerous for injuring a person, killing another dog, or escaping its owner three times or more.
A dog can be designated as vicious for killing or badly injuring someone.
A person who owns a designated dog must adhere to various restrictions, including keeping the dog contained and carrying liability insurance in case the dog attacks someone. If you get bitten by a designated dog, your attorney can file a claim against the liability insurance carrier and request punitive damages, which would significantly increase the size of the award if you went to trial. To avoid the risk of a trial, the insurer will often agree to pay a settlement.
When you meet with your attorney, ask them whether you should file under Ohio’s strict liability law or whether you should ask for punitive damages. They will help you decide depending on the circumstances of the case.
You must report a dog bite to County health authorities within 24 hours. Westerville, Ohio, is located partly in Franklin County and partly in Delaware County, so you will need to know which county the attack occurred in before you can report it.
The Franklin County Department of Animal Care and Control handles dog bites in Franklin County. To report a dog bite that happened within the past 24 hours in Franklin County, call 614-525-3400. To report a dog bite with no serious injury that occurred over 24 hours ago, call 614-525-3160.
To report a dog bite in Delaware County, fax a Rabies Investigation Animal Bite/Exposure Report to 740-368-1736.
County authorities will conduct a rabies investigation, which includes quarantining the dog for ten days. They will also decide whether to designate the dog as a dangerous or vicious animal. The dog will not necessarily be put to sleep because of the attack. That depends on the circumstances of the incident.
Whether you can collect damages for a dog bite depends on your own actions preceding the bite. Under normal circumstances, you can collect damages for medical expenses, lost income, and pain and suffering. However, you cannot collect damages if:
You provoked the dog by teasing or abusing it
The dog was defending the owner’s property because you were trespassing
The dog was defending a person who you were committing a crime against
You were committing a crime on the owner’s property unless it was only a petty misdemeanor
These are all situations in which most people would expect their dog to bite someone, so the law doesn’t hold the owner liable if that occurs. However, if you are a door-to-door salesperson, the owner is still liable, even if you don’t have permission to be in that neighborhood.
A dog bite might seem like a relatively minor injury, and sometimes that is the case. If a dog bit you but didn’t break the skin, you might not want to pursue the matter. However, dog bites are often much more serious than that. Four hundred sixty-eight people were killed by dogs between 2011 and 2021, according to the National Vital Statistics System.
You don’t have to just put up with it when a dog owner fails to control their animal. If you get bitten by an aggressive dog, the first thing you need to do is get medical attention and report the attack. The second thing you need to do is contact an experienced dog bite lawyer to help you pursue damages and hold the dog owner accountable.
Jami S. Oliver, Columbus, Ohio’s Lawyer of the Year for 2024, has experience with dog bite cases and other personal injury claims. Getting compensation for your dog bite injury can help you pay for your medical bills and other expenses while also helping to protect other people from being bitten and injured by the same dog. Put your claim in the hands of a women-led personal injury law firm that truly cares about you. If you’ve been bitten by a dog in Westerville, Ohio, contact Oliver Law Office today.
You can use the following directions to reach our office at 7240 Muirfield Dr, Ste 120, Dublin, OH 43017, from anywhere in the state.
Start on I-270 West.
Take the OH-161/US-33 Exit toward Marysville.
Exit at Avery-Muirfield Drive.
Turn right onto Avery-Muirfield Drive.
Turn left on Muirfield Drive.
Your destination will be on the left.
Start on I-270 North.
Take the OH-161/US-33 Exit toward Marysville.
Exit at Avery-Muirfield Drive.
Turn right onto Avery-Muirfield Drive
Turn left on Muirfield Drive.
Your destination will be on the left.
Start on I-270 West.
Take the OH-161/US-33 Exit toward Marysville.
Exit at Avery-Muirfield Drive.
Turn right onto Avery-Muirfield Drive.
Turn left on Muirfield Drive.
Your destination will be on the left.
Start on I-270 East.
Take the OH-161/US-33 Exit toward Marysville.
Exit at Avery-Muirfield Drive.
Turn right onto Avery-Muirfield Drive.
Turn left on Muirfield Drive.
Your destination will be on the left.
