About author:
Arthur Gueli works with his brother Charles (a licensed personal injury attorney) teaching injured people how to protect their rights and obtain fair compensation for their damages. Learn more about liability in traffic accidents (and how to make it work in your favor) at this page on their information-packed website: http://www.injury-settlement-guide.com/personal-injury-lawsuits.html Injury-Settlement-Guide.com
Most animal injuries result from dog bites. Other pets are kept indoors or can do little damage. If you've been injured by another type of animal then chances are it isn't someone's pet. As such there is no one to make a personal injury claim against.
Despite common belief, dog bite injuries and other animal related injuries are not usually easy cases to win. There are only a few states that have laws in which the animal's owner is responsible for anything a pet does. In almost all states the laws make it clear that if the owner could not have foreseen the incident it is not their responsibility.
So if you've been injured by a dog bite or because a dog jumped on you, your job is to show that the owner should have been aware of the potential danger. Were there previous dog bite incidents with that dog? Did the dog have a pattern of aggressive or unpredictable behavior?
If the dog caused injury by jumping on you or rushing you in a way that made you fall back then you must show that the dog generally behaves in that manner. Sometimes it is enough to show that the particular breed of dog is prone to making attacks.
In any of those cases, and with any other animal, if the owner should have been aware that their pet could do harm then they should have been more careful. As such their insurance should pay damages for your injuries.
Dog bites aren't the only way a pet can cause personal injuries. An animal running on the loose can dart into the road and cause a car accident. In these cases your job is to show that the owner should have had better control of their pet.
If you determine that you are able to go ahead with a personal injury claim, then you'll most likely be claiming under the defendant's homeowners insurance. If the animal was owned by a company - a pet store being a good example - then the owner's business liability insurance is where you should make your claim.
A slight variation of the above mentioned cases are those personal injuries caused by farm animals. Many of the same ideas apply to these cases, but differences come into play when the farm animal gets away from the controlled area. If the animal does damage then the owner is responsible because they should have had it better contained.
On the other hand, if there were posted signs indicating animals will regularly be crossing the street and a driver still hit the animal, it would be the driver who is actually liable for the animal's injuries.
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