A dog bite claim isn’t a paperwork exercise. It’s a negotiation with a company whose entire business model depends on paying out as little as possible, and the person on the other end of the phone does this for a living while you’re doing it for the first time in your life.
If You’re Bad at This, They’ll Pay You Less
Insurance companies pay for you to go away. They do this either by being nice and paying you what you’re owed, or by making your life so difficult that it’s not worth the effort to hang on.
Over the years, we’ve spoken with a lot of people asking for our help because the insurance company’s first offer wouldn’t even cover their medical bills. A common thread is that these are nice people who did nothing “wrong” in the days and weeks after the attack, they’re just bad negotiators.
Insurance companies love bad negotiators.
The only way to win is to convince the insurance company that you are not going to fold, that it’s cheaper (in time, effort and bad PR if it goes to court) to pay up now, and that you’re going to push for a figure that reflects the pain, time off work, scarring, etc. that you’ve suffered. And if this is going to work, you have to lay the groundwork in the first few weeks after the accident.
Get the medical documentation right from hour one
Documentation is key to a successful dog bite claim. This includes the ER photos and your one-week photo, but it goes way beyond that in medical treatment and mental health records. Treat this like what it is: building a case for compensation against a liability insurer whose job is to pay as little as possible. That means getting every nick and scratch examined by a doctor. It means initiating mental health treatment even if you think you can tough it out, because the greater that bill gets, the more likely it is the insurer will offer policy limits to settle. It means paying out of pocket for the first few counseling sessions if you must, since itchy bandages and rising co-pays don’t sound half as pitiful to a jury as the word “infection”.
Find every policy that might owe you money
Many people think that there is only one source of recovery: the homeowner’s coverage of the dog owner. This is right in most cases, but not all. If the owner rents, a renter’s insurance policy will typically carry similar liability coverage to a homeowners policy. If you skip this, you may be ignoring a potential source of recovery that is rightfully yours.
You should also ask if the dog owner has an umbrella liability policy. This policy covers any claim that has been made that exceeds the limits of the underlying insurance policy (in this case, the homeowners or renter’s insurance). In a case of a serious dog bite – one that involves surgery, permanent disfigurement, or long-term therapy – the limits of the underlying insurance policy may not even come close to covering the damages. An umbrella policy could mean the difference between a reasonable compensation and a significant shortfall for you.
Sometimes there is a breed-specific exclusion in the dog owner’s insurance policy. This kind of exclusion can actually deny any coverage at all under the policy for breeds like pit bulls or rottweilers. This doesn’t mean your claim goes away; it just means the dog owner is now personally liable to you for the damages. This can change the dynamic of the negotiation, but it doesn’t end it.
Lastly, use your health insurance to cover your medical bills in the meantime. It can take months for a dog owner’s insurance company to handle those bills, and they can really pile up in the meantime. Unpaid medical bills are direct pressure to settle for whatever you can get the quickest.
Understand why the adjuster wants to talk to you so fast
Shortly after the report arrives at the insurance carrier, you should expect a call from an adjuster. It will be a friendly-sounding call. They will likely express concern for your well-being. They will ask about the injury, your recovery, and possibly express how glad they are that you are feeling better. Then they will ask to take a recorded statement. A red flag should go up when an insurance adjuster asks you to take a recorded statement before you have concluded your treatment, before you know the full extent of your injury, and before you’ve had time to think clearly about what happened.
The adjuster is not your friend. He is not gathering information for the purpose of paying you more. The reason for the recorded statement is evidence to use against you. What you say in this statement may be used to reduce the value of your claim or even to deny it. An innocent comment or a mistake on your part could be very costly. Statements taken early in the claims process SHOULD raise red flags for you because they are a tactic to limit or minimize the amount of money the insurance company has to pay for your injury.
Know the policy limits and when it’s fair to demand them
Every liability policy has a cap – the policy limit – beyond which the insurer will not pay, no matter how serious the injury. For a minor bite requiring a few stitches, this rarely becomes an issue. For a serious attack involving surgery, skin grafts, nerve repair, or long-term therapy, medical costs alone can approach or exceed a standard policy limit fairly quickly.
When that happens, demanding the full policy limit is a reasonable and often necessary strategy. If the underlying policy can’t cover the damages, that’s when an umbrella policy becomes relevant, providing a second source of funds beyond the primary coverage.
This is also the point where negotiating alone starts to show its limits. An adjuster has no incentive to volunteer that an umbrella policy exists, no incentive to offer the full limit without a fight, and every incentive to close the file for less than the injury is worth. When the insurer is uncooperative, the offer is inadequate, or the injuries are severe, the dog bite lawyers at Briskman Briskman & Greenberg can step in to negotiate, evaluate settlement releases, and protect your right to full compensation. That’s the point where the balance of power in the negotiation actually shifts.
Expect the insurer to argue you caused this
Illinois operates under a modified comparative negligence rule. As a result, you can still collect compensation if you were partially responsible for what happened, as long as you are deemed less than 50% to blame. However, the amount you’re entitled to is reduced by your percentage of fault. For example, if you are awarded $100,000 and you are found to be 20% at fault, your award will be reduced by $20,000, so you’ll end up with $80,000.
Insurance adjusters are aware of this rule, and this influences almost every discussion they have with victims. For this reason, you may be asked specific questions in an attempt to prove contributory negligence on your part. Questions may be asked to show that you initiated contact with the dog, that you were trespassing on the property, or that you provoked the dog in some way. Perhaps the most dangerous step to take is to provide the adjuster with a recorded statement before you are fully aware of the questions above as this may be their way of gathering evidence to prove you were partially to blame for the incident. Being prepared for this tactic before speaking with someone and before obtaining an animal control report is part of supporting your claim, not an excuse to doubt the chance of winning your case.
The same is true if you have knowledge that the dog had bitten or acted aggressively in the past; it often helps your position to demand the animal control report and subpoena records of prior incidents involving the liable party. If an animal complaint has been initiated against the dog before, that helps show the dog’s owner should have known the dog was dangerous. This is about doing more than documenting the scene and your injuries. These are the specifics that devalue the argument against the victim and develop your ability to get a higher settlement.
Build a claim diary while you’re still healing
Insurance companies quantify pain and suffering by looking at tangible evidence. Keeping a journal, no matter how brief – simply jot down that you couldn’t sleep, or that you missed your child’s game, and how your injury affected time with your family or performance at work – converts abstract pain into clear, itemized proof. They cannot argue that you weren’t really suffering pain if you kept a record showing that you were. Your level of damages isn’t determined by how much pain you felt, but by how much of your life you couldn’t live.
Don’t settle before you know what the injury actually costs
The most dangerous thing you can do for your dog bite case is take the insurance company’s first offer. It is careless, and no experienced personal injury attorney would ever advise a client to accept the initial proposal. You bet on it being unreasonably low and just a starting point. They assume you’re desperate, uninformed, or just not willing to put up a fight. They’re usually right about the first part, wrong about the second, and regularly wrong about the third.
The odds are they’re doing everything they can to limit any payout to you, and offering that low sum is part one of the plan. Don’t even bother trying to count the ways they’ll come at you afterward. Remember they’ve got loads of lawyers ready to protect them and attack you in any way they can. They’re not on your side, even if they’re talking nicely. Firms like them are looking for payout limits and easy concessions. Be smart and protect yourself.
The claim moves faster than you think – plan accordingly
Insurance companies want to settle fast, for as little as possible. Ideally, in the days after the attack, before you could know the full effects of injuries or stress, before you could talk to a lawyer or get good advice, before you know all the losses from work and other sources of compensation, they would like to make a payment in full freeing them from all future claims – and leaving you largely unaware of what you should have asked for originally. Be cautious about the time pressures they create or buy into. Put them on the defensive as much as possible.
