Every year, dogs bite over four million Americans. Most animal attack serious injury victims are over 70 or under 7. Older victims often have pre-existing conditions which contribute to the risk and/or severity of serious injury. Young victims frequently weigh much less than their animal attackers. In both cases, a dog bite often causes gruesome injuries. These serious injuries lead to sky-high medical bills along with almost unbelievable pain and suffering.
Alas, insurance companies care very little about accident victims, no matter what TV commercials imply. Insurance company lawyers only care about corporate profits. In contrast, a Columbia dog bite lawyer only cares about victims and their recovery. Quite frankly, the medical and emotional recovery process requires money. So, we focus on obtaining the financial compensation these victims need and deserve.
Knockdown
When a large dog, like a pit bull, lunges at a frail victim, the jarring knockdown causes significant injuries. That’s especially true since, in many cases, the dog weighs more than the victim. These injuries often include head injuries and broken bones.
The extreme motion of a dog bite knockdown causes the brain to slam against the insides of the skull. The brain is one of the body’s smallest and most complex organs. It’s not much bigger than two coffee mugs put together. A high-speed impact with a thick bone, like the skull, causes brain bleeding and swelling.
Since these injuries are invisible, doctors must use injury symptoms to diagnose a head injury. Disorientation, neck soreness, and other initial head injury symptoms mirror accident shock symptoms. So, instead of performing necessary tests and gearing up for necessary medical intervention, doctors simply send these victims home.
We mentioned the brain’s complexities above. Each part of the brain controls a different function. These tiny regions of the brain are easily compromised. A slight chemical change causes a serious injury. More on that below.
Severe dog bite motion usually shatters bones, especially after the dog crushes the victim. Doctors typically use metal parts, like rods and screws, to surgically reconstruct these bones. As a result, physical therapy is longer, more difficult, and more expensive.
Bite Injuries
When a dog bites a victim, the dog’s teeth usually cause tearing surface lacerations and deep puncture wounds.
The lacerations are usually the most visible and gruesome dog bite injuries. Generally, doctors use skin grafts to address these gaping wounds. Furthermore, a dog’s teeth often pierce blood vessels or internal organs. These wounds bleed very badly, to say the least. In fact, by the time these victims reach hospitals, they may already be in hypovolemic shock.
These wounds have high infection rates. Usually, a Columbia personal injury lawyer must file a separate action to obtain compensation for infection-related injuries. These injuries are generally related to medical negligence.
PTSD
Doctors can usually treat these injuries in hospitals. But Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a long-term injury that’s manageable but usually incurable.
As mentioned, the brain has many compartments. Two of them are the amygdala, which controls emotional responses, and the hippocampus, which controls logical responses. Extreme stress inflames the amygdala, shrinking the hippocampus. The resulting imbalance causes symptoms like anger, hypervigilance, flashbacks, and depression.
Animal attack-induced PTSD is especially common in children. These victims often cannot tolerate powerful PTSD drugs which were designed for adults. As a result, these victims have trouble functioning at school, home, or anywhere else for a very long time.
Count on a Thorough Richland County Lawyer
Injury victims are entitled to significant compensation. For a free consultation with an experienced personal injury lawyer in Columbia, contact the Marc Brown Law Firm. The sooner you contact us, the sooner we start working for you.
Source:
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6431755/