52 year-old Tracy Garcia was standing outside of her Oklahoma house over the weekend when she was fatally attacked by her neighbors 6 small dogs of mixed breeds. Like many fatal dog attacks, her death was not immediate but occurred at the hospital.

NY Post reports on the fatal Oklahoma dog attack, “We were cleaning ticks off ourselves all day. They were covered, you can tell they had been living out in the woods.” In addition to their questionably wild living arrangements, the examining vet also discovered the potentially violent pit bull breed present in many of the dogs, “the dogs appeared to be pit bulls, with four pit bull mixed puppies.”

Dog attacks almost always cause some sort of serious or lasting injury and some times cause death. This Oklahoma case is somewhat unique in that the pack mentality of the seemingly unprovoked attack was done by so many small animals. When it comes to dog or even exotic animal attacks, the question is always who is responsible. While it was the dog that did the attack and caused the injuries or death, a dog cannot write a check for the damages they have caused. Ultimately, these are the responsibilities of the owners and dog attack lawsuits are almost always paid out via coverage in homeowners’ insurance.

Here’s some common California dog bite legal questions we get from our clients:

1. What if the dog owner does not have home owners insurance? Common issue. In these cases some dog owners actually have dog insurance or we would be filing a case directly against the individual. When filing against an individual can still result in a very substantial judgment, they have to actually have the money to pay for it, which can sometimes be problematic.
2. How much is by dog bite case worth? We just won a couple very substantial Calabasas dog bite cases that were over $100,000 in recovery for our clients. The worth of your case depends on many things including the nature and extent of your injuries– the worse your injuries (or death), the more your case is worth because your financial recovery is intended to help pay you back for the injuries and out of pocket expenses you have incurred (medical expenses, missed work, etc), future medical needs, the impact of a major scar and the pain, suffering and trauma the attack had on you and your loved ones.
3. Looking for the best dog bite lawyer in Los Angeles, how do I find one? Best is relative but you want to go with one that has experience with this specific area of personal injury law and Walch Law handles lots of dog bite cases every year. We know the ferocity that some animals have and when you get seriously injured by someone else’s dog, they should pay you for those injuries. We take all our cases on a contingency fee basis so give us a call today.

In 2016 alone, dog bite cases amounted to $600 Million in payouts by homeowners insurance. Think you have a case? Do not let too much time pass before giving Walch Law a call– you only have two years to get your Los Angeles dog bite case on the books. We are here to help- fill out our contact us form to set up your initial consultation today.