South Carolina has adopted a strict liability standard in dog bite injury law
. The owner of the dog is liable for all injuries resulting from a dog attack suffered by those who are in a public place or lawfully upon private property. Most cases do not require any prior biting history of the dog biting others.
Damages from a dog bite attach can be extraordinary. Dog attacks have been known to cause loss of human life, substantial medical bills, pain and suffering, lost wages, permanent disfigurement, and emotional distress. In the event that the dog is a vicious breed or has a substantial history of prior attacks you may also be entitled to additional punitive damages.
In order to seek recovery for damages after a dog bite attack it is necessary to determine who owns or harbors the dog. Often times after a severe attack the owner may try to distance themselves from liability by falsely denying ownership or alleging that it was provoked and its attack was only in self defense. It is often times important to work as quickly as possible after an attack to identify and obtain legal evidence of the ownership of the dog.
In most all cases a dog bit settlement or damages award is paid for by the dog owner's insurance company. A South Carolina Dog Bite attorney will investigate the facts surrounding not only the dog attack but the dog itself, its ownership and prior history. This information is necessary to establish the liability of legal responsibility for the attack. The amount of the settlement or damages award will be determined by those factors as well as the viciousness of the attack, amount of the medical bills, cost for any cosmetic or corrective surgery and other related expenses.