Recent Blog Posts in May 2010

Dog attacks are one of the most common causes of personal injuries. Children under the age of 11 years are often the victims of dog attacks because they are small can be easily controlled by the dog. There are many different signs that can be used to predict a possible dog attack such as listed below. Knowing them can possibly avoid dangerous situations -

• When a dog misjudges human gestures, for instance, if a person is about to pat the dog on the top of the head, the dog might take the hand movement as an attack and bite in self defense.
• When a dog is disturbed while resting/ sleeping and eating.
• When children especially those who are 11 years and younger want to play with pet against its wish, then the dog might attack. 
• When a dog is provoked by another animal or an individual that he cannot attack; the dog might redirect his aggression to some other person.

Some important things that can be done in order to avoid a dog attack are -

• Do not approach an unfamiliar dog, particularly those who are tied, barking constantly, lose behind the gate or confined within the car. Those dogs might be territorial and/or overly stressed and more prone to attack.
• Since dogs can become possessive with their food and toys, therefore, do not bother a dog while it is playing with its toy, eating and/or sleeping.
• Educate your children about how to treat a dog. Treating a dog unfairly or harshly can result in a dog attack.

If you think the dog can attack you any moment -

• Do not start shouting. Stand motionless and do not look in the animal's eye, look somewhere else and stay calm until he goes away from you.
• Try to resist the attack by "feeding" him things like your bag, shoes and jacket.

In case you are attacked by a dog, immediately cleanse your wound and get proper medical attention. Report the attack to the local animal control center so there will be a record of the dog's aggressiveness. It is very common for aggressive dogs to attack multiple times and if these attacks are reported to animal control, official action will be taken, hopefully before someone is seriously injured. Dog owners are 100% liable for medical bills, income loss, personal injury and pain and suffering damages.

If you are attacked by a dog, contact an experienced San Francisco personal injury attorney such as   Nelson C. Barry who specializes in dog attack cases who has a 100% win record in such cases. Mr. Barry serves clients in most of northern California from his offices in San Francisco. He is an aggressive and caring attorney who guides his clients throughout their case from beginning to end. To find out how personal injury attorney Nelson Barry has helped his other clients, check out their testimonials on his web site http://www.nelsonbarry.com/

Animal attack especially dog bites are quite common in United States . Each year more than 800,000 people seek medical attention for injuries received from these kinds of attacks. According to Center for Disease Prevention, more than 4.9 million dog bites happen each year. Most people do not appreciate how dangerous dogs are until they become a victim. Injuries from the dog attacks can be very severe and cause serious damage to muscles, ligaments, tendons, nerves and bones and can lead to serious complications such as infections, scaring and post traumatic stress disorders. 

The risk of being attacked by a dog is much greater when they are in a pack (such as two or more dogs in a home or yard) or when a dog is disturbed while resting or when a dog feels the need to protect itself. Growling, baring teeth, and snapping are warning signs for both the potential victim as well as the dog’s owner. When a dog exhibits these signs, the dog owner should take steps to keep people away from the dog by keeping the dog in a secure area such as a home or yard or on a leash when out for a walk. Children are most susceptible to dog attacks because they are small and vulnerable. 

When someone gets bitten by the dog, the first thing to do is get proper medical attention because the risk of serious infection is particularly high when a dog’s bite breaks the skin of its victim. Next, get the dog owner’s information (name, telephone number, address and the name of the dog’s veterinarian so you can check to see if the animal is current on its vaccinations). Tell the owner what happened. Dog owners are always required to control their dogs but even more so when they know the animal has attacked someone or some other animal.  Next, notify your local animal control agency and make a report. Often aggressive dogs have a history of such behavior and when it escalates to a certain point, the animal control officers are required to take steps to make sure the dog is confined and in some instances, have the dog put to down. This is always tragic because a dog’s aggressiveness is almost always the result of the way the owner raised the dog. 

Slips, Trips and Falls result in people getting injured with greater and greater frequency. These accidents can occur both inside and outside the premises. Some causes of slip/trip and fall injuries are rugged surfaces, raised sidewalks, wet or uneven floors, slippery surfaces, poorly lit areas such as staircases, loose carpeting and other hazards that are hidden or from which our attention is diverted.  Slip, trip and fall injuries are especially hard on elderly people, often leading to serious deterioration in their lifestyles such as being confined to a wheelchair or a bed. 

Some types of personal injuries that might occur in these accidents are:

• Neck injuries
• Spine injuries
• Disfiguring abrasions
• Fractured elbow
• Knee and leg injuries
• Head injuries
• Fractured hip

In cases of Slip, Trip or Fall, the owner of the property may be liable to the person who is injured. The owner has a duty to inspect his premises on a regular basis for dangerous conditions and to fix them or warn people of the danger (with sighs, cones, hazard tape etc). If the owner fails to do any of these things, he is required to compensate the injured person. Of course, the injured person needs to collect some proof, for example, take some pictures of the accident area, unsafe surface conditions and the injury. It is also important to collect the information such as name, phone number and addresses of the witnesses as their testimony can help later if the owner tries to deny what happened. In addition to this, all expenses such as your medical bills, lost wages, ambulance cost and other expenses associated with slip, trip and fall injury must be documented properly so that you can get reimbursed by the injured property.

If you or your loved one has been a victim of fall injury, you should immediately contact Nelson C. Barry III, San Francisco slip, trip and fall attorney who not only has 31 years of experience but also has an excellent track record of aggressively pursuing those responsible for his client's injuries. San Francisco personal injury attorney Nelson C. Barry III will fight for your rights to the very end to get full compensation for all your losses. Remember you need to act immediately and notify your attorney because there are many details to be dealt with in order to properly preserve your claim.