Over 4.5 million people are bitten by dogs in the United States each year, and over 800,000 victims of dog bites require medical care. Moreover, children are more likely to be victims of a dog bite, and they carry higher risk of requiring medical attention.

If you have been bitten by a dog you might think “I am not hurt too badly.” However, not all pet owners ensure that their animals have received their shots, and dogs can carry multiple types of diseases that can be harmful or even deadly to humans. These factors can turn a relatively minor bite into a major injury, which is why you should always ensure you receive medical attention immediately if you are ever bitten and discuss your case with an experienced dog bite attorney.

Leash Laws in Macon, GA

The city of Macon’s code of ordinances addresses several aspects of animal care in order to give pet owners guidance on what is required of them by law. These ordinances address things such as when and where a dog must be on a leash, the specifications for housing a dog, and any permit or licensing requirements. The Macon code also has different pet requirements depending on which county you are in, but each county has certain common requirements such as:

• When outside of a pet-owner’s property, a dog must be on a leash unless the dog is in an off-leash pet area
• When a dog is leashed, the animal must be under the control of a competent person.
• When the dog is on the land owner’s property, the animal must be kept within an enclosed area, but each county has its own specification for enclosures.

Additionally, under O.C.G.A. 51-2-7, pet owners can be held liable for damages if a dog bites someone and the presence of the unattended animal was in violation of a city or county ordinance.

What Should I do if I got Bit by a Dog?

If you have been bitten by a dog, there are a host of different things that run through your mind, but you should always make sure the attack is well documented. This is generally accomplished by doing the following:

• Taking pictures of your injury and the dog, if possible
• Calling the police and filing a police report
• Obtaining the owner’s name and contact information, which can usually be obtained from the police report or the owner directly
• Get evaluated and tested for diseases by a doctor
• Consult with a dog bite attorney

Who do I Report a Dog Bite To?

Regardless of whether the bite is serious or minor, you should always contact the police if you get bitten by a dog. The police will document what happened, issue a citation to the pet owner if they were in violation of any county or city ordinances, and if needed, contact animal control.

Get the Pet Owner’s Name and Contact Information

Every dog bite case is different, but regardless of the circumstances, you want to make sure you have the name of the pet owner or at least the address where the dog resides. This information is usually contained within a police report, but in the event a police report was not filed, you should try to determine, to some degree, who the pet owner is and their address.

Document Your Injuries

Georgia is considered a “negligence” dog bite state. Meaning, any case you bring against a pet owner for a dog bite involves an allegation that the pet owner’s negligence caused your injuries, but you, with the help of your dog bite attorney, must provide proof of your injuries and the pet owner’s negligent actions.

Photos of your injuries, medical records from doctors that treated your dog bite, and witness statements can all be used to demonstrate the extent of your injuries and exactly what transpired when the bite occurred. So, you should gather as much evidence after the attack as possible, which will strengthen your case if it goes to trial.

Unbeknownst to most people, personal injury lawyers provide their clients with multiple services throughout the course of every case a personal injury attorney accepts. The main reason most people are unaware of all of the services their personal injury attorney provides them with stems from a misunderstanding of what a personal injury lawyer does in each case. For starters, lawyers are tasked with being subject matter experts in their field. This point is demonstrated by the fact that every personal injury attorney at Cambre and Associates has earned a juris doctor degree, which simply means a doctorate of law degree, but law school only gives a lawyer some of the tools they need to practice law in the real world. Every case that a personal injury attorney accepts requires the lawyer to, among other things, perform the following services for their client:

• Gather evidence and ensure that the evidence gathered is admissible: Not all evidence is admissible in a court of law, and the rules concerning what evidence is admissible and how that evidence can be submitted are often dictated by a combination of statutes, and binding legal precedent that articulates the process a personal injury attorney and plaintiff must go through in order to submit evidence
• Interpret and apply the law: This service has two parts. On the one hand, a personal injury lawyer must interpret statutes, which is the law as it is written by the state or federal legislature. However, Georgia and the U.S. have a judicial system that recognizes legal president, which is a higher court’s interpretation and application of the law in a certain cases. Binding president can affect how a law is applied in a certain situation or throughout the entire state or country, and thus, researching state and federal case law on a particular legal subject is a critical service that a personal injury attorney performs for their client.
• Cross examining witnesses: To successfully execute a personal injury case in court, a personal injury lawyer must prove certain elements in court in order to prevail. The elements of proof for each type of personal injury claim can vary, but one of the primary ways an attorney gathers evidence is through sworn testimony. A personal injury lawyer will often take the testimony of witnesses either at trial or through depositions, but in both instances, the lawyer must ask the witness questions in a manner that can both provide the attorney with information and that serves to accomplish the lawyer’s ultimate goal which is to prove the necessary elements needed for their client to prevail in court.

This list is not all inclusive, but rather, it articulates some of the more complex aspects of practicing personal injury law. Being able to perform all of the legal tasks needed to bring a personal injury claim to a successful conclusion takes years of education, practice, and experience that cannot be learned in small amount of time by someone without legal training. As such, although most people may be unaware of all of the services a personal injury attorney performs for their clients, they do recognize that they need to have their cases handled by legal experts, and thus, they employ the services of an experience personal injury lawyer.

Our Expertise at Cambre & Associates

At Cambre and Associates, our law firm consists of five personal injury attorneys who come from diverse legal backgrounds with previous practice experience in areas of law such as personal injury law, criminal law, family law, and immigration law. Moreover, some of our lawyers are licensed to practice in multiple states, and have been admitted to both state and federal courts across the state of Georgia. Our clients benefit from the various unique legal backgrounds that each of our personal injury attorneys have, and this aspect of our practice allows our clients to have the benefit of knowing that every personal injury attorney at Cambre and Associates has an extensive amount of education and trial experience. Moreover, the personal injury lawyers at Cambre and Associates have the legal skills necessary to handle cases that involve complex personal injury litigation and that require specialized knowledge of various areas of law such as medical and legal malpractice cases, catastrophic injury claims, and commercial vehicle accident claims. Each of these types of personal injury claims and others that are handled by the personal injury attorneys at our firm require either an intimate knowledge of a very specific area of state law such as medical malpractice or an understanding of the interplay between state and federal law such as commercial vehicle accidents.  

Personal Injury Attorney at Cambre & Associates

The personal injury attorneys at Cambre and Associates understand the effect a negligent injury can have on your life, but you don’t have to face this stressful situation alone. At Cambre and Associates, our personal injury lawyers will explain the rights that are afforded to you by law, evaluate your claim, gather evidence and testimony on your behalf, and aggressively seek the appropriate resolution to your case that you deserve. Call our office today for a free consultation and find out how some of Macon’s best personal injury attorneys can help you.