Addison Dog Bite Lawyer

Were you or a family member bitten by a dog in Addison?

At Kelso Law, we hold dog owners and property owners accountable across Addison and pursue the full value of an injury claim.

If someone else’s dog attacked you or a family member in Addison, more than the dog’s owner may be responsible for what happened. Kelso Law has served injured Texans since 2012, recovering more than $20 million for clients and securing a jury verdict above $8 million in Dallas County. Our Addison, TX dog bite lawyer can identify every party at fault, document the full harm, and pursue each source of coverage the law reaches. You can request a free consultation to learn where your claim stands and what steps come next.

Dog Bite Lawyer Addison, TX

A dog bite claim is a personal injury case, and it is often a premises case as well, because the attack usually happens on someone’s property. Dogs bite millions of people in the United States each year, and the wounds can cause deep punctures, infection, and permanent scarring, according to the CDC. The dog might belong to a neighbor, a fellow tenant, or a business, and the party that controls that property can share responsibility for failing to prevent the attack.

An Addison dog bite attorney identifies every party at fault, documents the full harm, and pursues the coverage that pays for a complete recovery. When an insurer offers less than the injury will cost, the next step is a lawsuit and, if needed, a trial.

Types of Dog Bite Cases We Handle in Addison

Dog bite claims take several forms, and where the attack happened often points to who is responsible. How the bite occurred and what the owner knew guide the evidence we gather. These are the dog bite cases our Addison office handles most often.

• Bites at apartments and rental properties. A landlord or property manager who knew a tenant’s dog was dangerous can share fault. Addison’s dense apartment districts make these cases common.
• Bites at businesses and on other property. A store, patio, or office that allowed a dangerous dog on site may bear responsibility along with the owner.
• Wrongful death. A severe mauling can take a life, and surviving family members may bring a claim for their losses. We handle these cases with care for the family and for the record.
• Attacks by a dog with a known history. An owner who knew the dog had bitten before or shown aggression is liable under the rule that follows a first bite.
• Bites to delivery and service workers. Drivers, mail carriers, and technicians are bitten while doing their jobs on someone else’s property.
• Bites to children and older adults. The most vulnerable victims often suffer the worst wounds and need care for the physical and emotional harm.
• Off-leash and loose-dog attacks. A dog out of its yard or off its leash can support a claim even without a prior bite.

Why Choose Kelso Law as Your Dog Bite Lawyer in Addison, TX?

Tracing an Attack to Everyone Responsible

Kelso Law represents the injured, not the dog owners or the property owners who failed to prevent the attack. A single bite can involve the owner, a landlord, and a business at once, so we look past the obvious defendant to find every party and every policy that should answer for the harm. Across years of plaintiff-side practice, Kelso Law has recovered more than $20 million for injured clients, including the following results:

• $8 million jury verdict in a grocery store assault case in Dallas County
• $1 million recovery in a workplace injury matter
• $1 million recovery in a premises liability case
• $400,000 recovery in a separate premises liability case

We handle dog bite cases on a contingency basis, so there is no fee unless we recover for you. That work is led by our personal injury lawyer in Addison, TX who knows how to trace an injury back to everyone at fault.

A Record Built in the Courtroom

Founding attorney Rhiannon Kelso has tried more than 25 cases to a jury verdict since she began practicing in 2012, including a verdict above $8 million in Dallas County. She earned her Juris Doctor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, received the CALI Excellence for the Future Award, and is admitted in every Texas state court and all three federal districts in the state. Her memberships include the Dallas Bar Association and the Texas Trial Lawyers Association, and she serves clients in English and Spanish. That trial record is what pushes an insurer to take a bite claim, and its full costs, seriously.

What Is Important to Understand About a Dog Bite Case?

Damages, Liability, and Compensation for Dog Bite Cases

Texas has no general dog bite statute, so liability runs on a few rules, and more than one party may share it:

• The one-bite rule. An owner who knew the dog was dangerous is liable for the attack it causes.
• Ordinary negligence. An owner or property owner who ignored a leash rule or a known danger can be liable even without a prior bite, and the state’s dangerous dog law sets duties an owner must meet.
• Recoverable losses. Damages include medical care, reconstructive surgery, lost income, and non-economic harm such as pain and disfigurement.
• When the owner cannot pay. If the owner has no coverage, other sources such as a landlord’s or business’s policy may still apply.
• Shared fault. Under the comparative fault rule, provoking the dog or ignoring a clear warning can reduce a recovery.

What a claim is worth depends on the severity of the injury and the strength of the proof behind each loss.

What Are Important Aspects of a Dog Bite Case?

The evidence gathered soon after a bite often decides the claim, so a few steps matter more than any others:

• Photograph everything. Pictures of the wounds, the dog, and the location help establish what happened.
• Note the property. The address and the owner or manager can point to a second party who shares fault.
• See a doctor quickly. Bites carry a real risk of infection, and early care creates the record a claim needs.
• Identify who saw it. What witnesses saw can confirm the attack and the dog’s behavior.

What Is the Dog Bite Case Timeline?

A dog bite claim usually moves through the same stages, though the pace varies from case to case. The steps, in the order they occur, are:

1. Consultation and case review soon after the bite
2. Medical treatment continuing until your condition stabilizes
3. Investigation of the dog’s history, the property, and the available policies
4. A demand and negotiation with the insurers, including review of an offer to settle
5. A lawsuit filed when an insurer will not pay fairly
6. Discovery, depositions, and trial when no fair result is reached

A two-year deadline applies to most dog bite suits, measured from the date of the attack. A claim on behalf of an injured child may follow a different schedule, so it helps to ask early.

What Should You Bring to Your Dog Bite Consultation?

A first meeting goes faster when you bring the records that describe the attack and your losses. Please gather the following items, to the extent you have them:

• Photographs of the injuries and, if possible, the dog
• Medical records and bills from treatment after the bite
• The address where the attack happened and the property’s owner or manager
• The dog owner’s name, and any report to animal control or the police
• The name of any insurer that has contacted you

You do not need every item to begin, and we can request records that you cannot obtain on your own. Once we know where the bite happened and who was involved, we can tell you which parties may owe you and what a full claim should include.

Most Dangerous Locations for Dog Bites in Addison

In Addison’s dense apartment districts and busy public spaces, dogs and people share the same ground every day. A bite can happen in a courtyard, on a trail, or on a restaurant patio, and where it happens often points to who is responsible.

The places where dogs and people mix most often include the following:

• The Addison Circle and Vitruvian Park apartment districts, where dogs fill the courtyards and sidewalks
• Vitruvian Park and Addison Circle Park, where owners walk dogs along the trails
• The Redding Trail and D. Lynn Spruill off-leash dog parks
• The Restaurant Row patios, where many of the town’s restaurants welcome dogs
• Les Lacs Park and the town’s connected trail system

Reach Out to Kelso Law to Schedule a Consultation

A serious bite can leave lasting scars and hard questions about who should pay for them. Our Addison dog bite lawyer can sort out who is responsible and pursue each of them, and the first consultation is free, with no fee unless we recover for you. When you are ready, get in touch with Kelso Law to talk through what happened and what your family can do next.