Dog bites can be incredibly damaging, often leaving lifelong physical and emotional scars. If a dog attack has left you injured, it is critical to understand how the insurance companies handle dog bite claims. In most circumstances, you will benefit significantly from working with a San Diego dog bite lawyer from Kashou Law.
Insurance Companies Often Try to Deny Liability
In recent years, the Insurance Information Institute reports that insurance companies paid out over $1 billion in liability claims involving dog bites and dog-related injuries. Insurance companies typically have a primary goal of protecting the company’s assets, which means minimizing the payout for your claims by avoiding liability at nearly all costs. They do this in several ways
Dog Breed Exclusions
Many homeowners’ insurance policies will exclude certain dog breeds. Most often, these are breeds such as pit bulls, rottweilers, and other breeds commonly identified as ‘vicious’. If this is the case, you may be unable to recover compensation from the insurance company.
However, you might choose to pursue compensation directly from the dog’s owner, though they are often unable to pay out the full costs of your damages. You can speak with an attorney to determine whether that is a worthwhile option in your situation.
Breaking the Law
Even with California’s strict liability laws, you may not be protected if the insurance company successfully makes a claim against you, claiming that you were there unlawfully or otherwise committing a crime.
Provocation
California expects that dogs are appropriately restrained or managed to keep them and others safe. However, this does not mean that the animal or owner will be considered liable for an attack when the dog is provoked. Most often, this means physically abusing or hurting the animal for no apparent reason, but it may also include taunting or harassing the dog with a sound or movement that the dog clearly does not like.
Challenging the Severity of Your Injuries
Another common way they may try to reduce your claim is to challenge or question the severity of your injuries. They may try to claim that part of your costs were due to a previous injury or illness that you would have had to treat regardless of the dog bite. Or they may want you to seek additional opinions to verify that your injuries were as bad as you claim, and that the course of treatment was reasonable and expected.
You can protect yourself from unfairly reduced claims like this by accessing immediate medical treatment and keeping detailed records of your injuries and recovery.
Intentionally Delaying the Process
When you’re dealing with an insurance claim, you likely just want to be finished with it so you can move on. Insurance providers often rely on this, and may delay the process by taking as long as they are allowed to respond to an offer, provide documentation, or request additional information. This is often done as a way to wear you down into accepting an offer lower than what you deserve in the name of getting your money and being done with the situation.