Union Dog Bite and Animal Attack Lawyer

Victims of attacks by a dog or other pet may have the right to recover compensation for their injuries.

If you or someone you love has fallen victim to a pet attack in the Union, South Carolina area call George Sink, P.A. Injury Lawyers today. Our dog bite and animal attack lawyers in Union, SC, help residents seek compensation for their injuries after being bitten or attacked by someone else’s pet.

Working with George Sink, P.A. Injury Lawyers

Our firm exclusively represents personal injury victims. We routinely handle pet attack matters for South Carolinians who were injured by dog bites and maulings. Every pet attack has its own unique facts and circumstances and for this reason we cannot guarantee successful results.

However, what a dog bite and animal attack attorney in Union, South Carolina, can promise our clients is that they will work their hardest to achieve the best possible outcome the law allows.

Union Dog Bite and Animal Attack Lawyer Near Me(888) 612-7001

South Carolina’s Rules to Prevent Dog Bite and Animal Attacks

This may come as a surprise to some, but the laws of South Carolina and Union ordinances contain extensive rules meant to keep the public safe from animal attacks.

For example, Union pet owners must put ID tags on and inoculate their cats and dogs against rabies, and it is illegal in Union to keep a dog that “habitually or repeatedly chases, snaps at, attacks or barks at pedestrians, bicyclists or vehicles.”

Even when Union residents comply with these laws, pet attacks still occur from time-to-time. Because some attacks simply can’t be avoided, South Carolina law gives pet attack victims the right to recover damages for their injuries.

Dog Bites: South Carolina Law Surrounding a Common Injury

Dog bites constitute the most common type of pet attack and as such they receive special treatment under S.C. Code § 47-3-110. In South Carolina, dog owners will be held “strictly liable” to any person their dog injures in a public place or on private property, regardless of whether they acted negligently in tending to the dog.

There are only three exceptions to this rule:

• The victim was attacked 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 dog that attacked the victim was a police canine acting on the lawful command of its handler.

Union residents who own or tend to a dog may also risk criminal penalties if they fail to comply with state and local dog regulations.

Non-Canine Animal Attacks: Recovering Damages Under “Premises Liability” and Owner “Negligence”

Although dog attacks constitute the most frequent type of attack, other pets also injure humans from time-to-time. When they do, victims have the right to seek damages under South Carolina’s legal principles of “premises liability” and negligence.

Under certain conditions, the doctrine of “premises liability” holds a property owner liable to a visitor injured by an animal while on the owner’s property. The best way to determine if a property owner owes damages in any case is to speak with an attorney familiar with representing personal injury victims.

Additionally, pet owners also bear legal responsibility to anyone their pet harms under general legal principles of negligence. Like any South Carolinian, Union pet owners have a basic obligation not to handle and tend to their pet in a way that could reasonably be expected to result in harm to others and must pay damages when they fail to live up to that obligation.

As an example, the owner of a pet iguana that escapes its terrarium and subsequently attacks a neighbor’s child can be held liable for the child’s injuries if the owner failed to take reasonable measures to prevent the lizard from escaping.

Protecting Your Legal Rights with a Union Dog Bite/ Animal Attack Lawyer

If someone’s pet hurts you or a loved one, seek medical attention right away. A bite or laceration from any pet poses a serious risk of infection, and it may also end up costing you more than you think. It may also be important and legally necessary to report a pet attack to animal control officials.

Victims of pet attacks can protect their legal rights by consulting with a pet-related injury attorney. George Sink, P.A. Injury Lawyers’ team of legal professionals have the tools to pursue compensation for those victims in and out of Union County courts.

Have you or a family member sustained injuries from a pet attack in the Union, South Carolina area? If so, then South Carolina law may give you the right to seek damages from those responsible. Contact us today by phone or through our online form for a free case evaluation.

A dog bite and animal attack lawyer serving Union, South Carolina can meet at the location most convenient for you, including our Spartanburg office, your home, or the hospital.