In my personal opinion about the state of the nation, lawyers are a much bigger problem than a minor dog bite, and I do everything I can to avoid putting more money in their pockets. We have become a people who think that if anything bad happens to us, we have been wronged and someone should pay for it.
In this case the dog may have to pay with its life, as Animal Control is still investigating. Getting money from the owner doesn't make my leg heal any quicker or feel any better.
There are some people who no doubt deserve to be sued, but there are a lot more opportunists who look for reasons to sue simply to get financial gain. The courts are clogged with them, and they are everyone's problem financially. TANSTAAFL still applies...all of us end up paying for those big judgements you read about every day.
And I apologize if someone reading this is part of the 3% of all attorneys who get a bad rap because of the actions of the other 97%
I hold both the irresponsible owner and the state responsible for
my diabetic wound care. When the State or the irresponsible animal owner gets tired of paying for 6 months of diabetic wound care it may reform their attitude a bit, and get laws changed. As for me, I will not use the VA health care system
to treat wound care caused by dog bites, but will leave them
holding the bag. So if I get sued for the medical bill, I will come
after them. If the dog owner has no money to pay, then its the
states problem, not mine. Second thing is if I see the dog coming he won't make it to my leg. I expect six months of wound care is no big deal to some but its a big deal to me.
I am determined not to unload such bills on the VA overburdened health care system so its on the
dog owner and the state. it has been my experience that there are far too many animal lovers
who are in the state government unless the state is the one having to fund the hospitals when they
don't get paid.
Hospitals like to be paid, and I do not pay them for such care,
unless I caused the problem. So if I incur those expenses someone else is going to have that problem, not me. If it
takes legal action fine. If they have a one free bite privilege
the hospital may not get paid.