Lancaster Dog Bite and Animal Attack Lawyer

Let our Lancaster, SC, dog bite and animal attack attorneys help you pursue compensation for your injuries and hold the negligent pet owner responsible.

If you or a family member has fallen victim to a pet attack in the Lancaster, South Carolina area, call George Sink, P.A. Injury Lawyers today for legal counsel you need. Our dog bite and animal attack lawyers in Lancaster, SC, help residents recover compensation after suffering the injury of a pet-related attack. 

George Sink, P.A. Injury Lawyers’ Dedication to Your Case

With offices around the Palmetto State, George Sink, P.A. Injury Lawyers represents all types of personal injury victims, including pet attacks like dog maulings. A dog bite and animal attack attorney in Lancaster, SC, can promise to put their dedication to work for every client and help them face the difficult task of recovering damages from an unprovoked animal attack. 

Lancaster Dog Bite & Animal Attacks Lawyer Near Me(888) 612-7001

A Look At South Carolina/ Lancaster County Laws for Pet Owners

The laws of South Carolina andLancaster County ordinances set rules for pet owners to follow in order to keep the public safe from misbehaving pets. For example, in Lancaster County, pet owners must restrain their pets by keeping them on leashes whenever the pets leave their owner’s property. 

Dogs and cats must also be inoculated against rabies. Most Lancaster residents follow these rules, but even so, pet attacks still occur. Recognizing this inevitability, South Carolina law entitles pet attack victims to recover damages for their injuries.

Dog Bites in South Carolina: A Special Class of Injury

Because they happen so often,S.C. Code § 47-3-110 treats dog bites as a special class of injury. In South Carolina, the law holds dog owners “strictly liable” to anyone their dog injures in a public place or on private property, regardless of whether the owner acted negligently in handling the dog. This rule has only three exceptions:

• The victim sustained the injury while trespassing on the owner’s property.
• The victim “provoked or harassed the dog and that provocation was the proximate cause of the attack.”
• The attacking dog was a police canine acting on the lawful command of a police official.

Anyone in Lancaster owning or tending to a dog may also face criminal sanction for failing to follow the ordinances and state laws regulating the keeping of dogs. 

What to Know About Non-Dog Animal Attacks in South Carolina

Pets other than dogs also attack from time-to-time, and when they do, South Carolina’s legal principles of “premises liability” and negligence give rights to victims. The law of “premises liability” states that a property owner is liable to a visitor injured on his property, under certain conditions. 

These conditions may include the visitor suffering an attack by a pet. Speak with a lawyer familiar with representing pet attack victims to determine if a property owner owes you damages for an animal attack that happened on his premises.  

Regardless of where an attack occurs, pet owners may also have legal liability to victims of their pet’s aggression. Under South Carolina’s common law doctrine of negligence, a pet owner owes the public a duty of reasonable care to protect others from pet misbehavior and may have liability when that duty is breached. 

For example, the owner of an exotic bird that sits on its owner’s shoulder in public may have liability when the bird begins attacking people passing by if the owner has not taken reasonable steps to keep the bird restrained. 

Legal Aid in a Lancaster, South Carolina Dog Bite or Animal Attack

If a domestic animal has injured you or a loved one, seek medical attention immediately. A bite or scratch from even the cleanest animal carries with it a high risk of infection. Take care to report pet attacks to animal control authorities as well. If a family member passed away because of a dog bite or animal attack, you may be eligible to recover compensation through a wrongful death lawsuit.

Once you have received the appropriate medical care, protect your legal rights by speaking with an animal attack attorney. At George Sink, P.A. Injury Lawyers, we help animal attack victims by negotiating settlements or, if necessary, taking legal action in Lancaster County courts. 

Has a Lancaster, South Carolina-area pet attack injured you, your child, or another family member? If so, then South Carolina law may entitle you to recover compensation from the pet owner or the owner of the property where the attack happened. Speak with us today to discuss the details of your case in a free consultation. A dog bite and animal attack lawyer serving Lancaster, SC, can meet at the location most convenient for you, including one of our offices around the state, your home, or the hospital.