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If you don’t do anything, then you will be the person paying.
However, you have the right to seek legal damages if you’ve been hurt by someone else’s dog anywhere in the state of Illinois. In order to get these legal damages, you need to take action before the legal deadline, or statute of limitations, expires, and you need to pursue damages against the legally responsible person.
Who Was Responsible for Your Bite?
It depends on who owns the dog and who had custody of the dog at the time that you were bit. The Illinois Dog Bite Law is part of the Illinois Animal Control Act. Section 2.16 of the Illinois Animal Control Act defines the owner of a dog as “…any person having a right of property in an animal, or who keeps or harbors an animal, or who has it in his care, or acts as its custodian, or who knowingly permits a dog to remain on any premises occupied by him or her.”
Thus, it is important to know who owned the dog that hurt you, who had custody of the dog at the time that you were bitten on the sidewalk, and whether the property owner knew the dog was there and allowed it to be there.
Once you have identified which person or people may be responsible for your injuries, then you can begin protecting your legal rights.
Take Action Today to Protect Your Fair Recovery
The first step in the recovery process may be to negotiate with the person responsible for your injuries or that person’s insurance company. However, it is important to do so in a way that doesn’t jeopardize your fair recovery…and it is also important to keep in mind that if a settlement is not reached, then you will need to file a complaint in court before the statute of limitations expires.
This can be complicated, but you don’t have to do it alone. You have the right to work with an experienced dog bite lawyer to protect your rights and to get the fair recovery that you deserve. For more information, please contact us anytime—24/7—at 1-800-800-5678.
