A Charlotte dog bite lawyer is an invaluable asset to have by your side when making a personal injury claim for a dog bite or attack as they have experience handling these cases and in depth knowledge of the law surrounding them.
Dog bite law requires knowledge of the county law as well as the national and state criminal and civil law. In the city of Charlotte in North Carolina, criminality in a dog bite claim is usually decided by an array of laws including the dog’s history, if there is any, and facts about the dog bite.
Dog owners in North Carolina are strictly responsible for canine-inflicted injuries to human or property if he/she willfully or intentionally violated the prohibition of the state against animals running at large. The prohibition is applicable only if the dog is more than six months old and is running unaccompanied by the owner or keeper at night. The issue with this running at large prohibition of North Carolina’s dog bite law is that it is nonsensically preventive because it is only applicable at night to dogs over a particular age. What’s worse is the fact that as a dog bite law, it raises the knowledge requirement that is vital for an intentional tort.
Unlike other states, running at large in Charlotte does not result in liability unless the injured individual can prove that the dog owner permitted it willfully, intentionally and knowingly. Because of the complexities of dog bite law in the state, it is crucial to enlist the services of a Charlotte dog bite lawyer to help you with your claim.
North Carolina’s dog bite law is much restrictive than the common law and therefore protects dog owners from negligence since the violation of running at large statute should be done with a morale that is linked with intentional torts and not negligence torts.
If a dog owner does not violat the state’s running at large prohibition, there can be strict liability if severe injury has been inflicted on a person or if the vicious dog has killed anyone. Any dog can be considered “potentially dangerous” if:
- it attacked a person outside its keeper’s property
- it approached an individual who is outside the property of the owner in a terrorizing or vicious manner in an apparent attack behavior
- it killed any domestic animal outside its owner’s property
- it inflicted a bite on an individual that resulted in injuries, hospitalization or cosmetic surgery
To warrant strict liability, knowledge about the dog’s dangerous behavior is necessary. With a Charlotte dog bite lawyer on your side, you will be able to present evidence that the owner of the dog at the time of your injury had knowledge of his dog’s dangerous propensities. Your Charlotte dog bite lawyer will also prevent you from situations where liability may be brought into question. Before filing a dog bite claim against the person accountable for your injuries, a Charlotte dog bite lawyer will carefully assess your case first and will determine if you have a valid claim to pursue.
A Charlotte dog bite lawyer will ensure that you are as prepared as possible for your claim and that you have all the essential documents and evidence needed to support you claim. A Charlotte dog bite lawyer will also have experience handling cases similar to yours, meaning they will be ready for any potential hiccups you may encounter during the claim process.
Therefore, when making a dog bite claim in Charlotte, North Carolina, it is in your best interests to enlist the help of a Charlotte dog bite lawyer.
For more information on other areas of Charlotte personal injury, please visit our Charlotte personal injury page