What should you do if your child is bitten by a dog?

In Rhode Island, as in many other states, there are not only leash laws to protect people from bites by stray or rabid animals, but there are also dog bite laws to protect victims who are bitten by dogs either on a leash or not.

The emotional trauma of a dog bite is only one aspect of this kind of violent attack. There are serious health issues associated with dog bites, among them infection and rabies.

If your child is bitten by a dog in RI there are some basic steps you should take to ensure that the owner of the dog is held accountable, and the dog is at least quarantined to guarantee that the animal has not been infected by rabies, and to ensure that proper precautions are taken by the owner to prevent the dog from biting more people.

The first thing you should do is try to determine whether the dog has on a collar or an ID tag. If the dog seems unapproachable, or has the signs of rabies, do not approach the dog.

Avoid debating whether or not the dog actually bit your child with the dog owner. In fact, if you can avoid it, do not converse with the owner other than to get basic information such as where they live, their name, the dog's name and whether the dog has up to date rabies vaccinations. Whatever you do, do not sign anything or make any kind of a statement, recorded or otherwise.

Reporting the incident to the police and getting your child medical attention should be the next two things you do. If your child has been seriously injured by the dog bite, seek medical attention first. Although, a phone call to the police will net you both an ambulance and a uniformed officer to the scene almost immediately.

S. Joshua Macktaz is an experienced personal injury attorney in RI. If you feel that your situation warrants further investigation, contact him at (401) 861-1155 or use the contact form on his website HERE