Get it in a chart
A puncture that looks small is how infections start. Ask them to write the words “dog bite.”
The hours after
After a dog bite, the next hour matters more than the next month.
Medical steps, evidence, insurance, and the law in your state — written without slogans. If the file is real, we introduce you to attorneys who already wanted a case like yours.
What holds up later
Evidence expires
Photographs, the animal-control report, the owner’s name. Wounds close. Neighbors move.
Meet someone who wants the file
Not a billboard. A short list of attorneys who already work dog-bite cases in your state.
The pillar
What to do after a dog bite
A practical sequence after a dog bite: medical care, evidence, animal control, insurance, and when a lawyer is actually worth calling.
Read the pillarMore from the file
All guidesHiring
How to choose a dog bite lawyer
What actually distinguishes a good dog-bite attorney: volume in this claim type, insurance-defense literacy, trial posture, and how they get paid.
Money
Dog bite settlement amounts
The 2025 average dog-related insurance claim was $65,450. Here is what that number is, what it is not, and what actually moves a dog-bite settlement.
Liability
Strict liability vs the one-bite rule
In a strict-liability state you do not prove the dog was known to be dangerous. In a one-bite state you usually do. Here is how that split works, and which facts still matter everywhere.
Insurance
Homeowners insurance and dog bites
Most dog-bite money comes from a homeowners or renters policy, not from the owner. Coverage, exclusions, medical payments, and why the first check is not the claim.
The law is state law.
Strict liability, one-bite, mixed statutes, and deadlines from one year to six. Start with the place you were standing.
$1.86B
4.5M
2 years
This page is general information, not legal advice, and is not a substitute for a lawyer licensed in your state. Statutes change. Confirm the current rule and your deadline with counsel before you rely on a date.