Nothing ruins a good bike ride like a nasty dog with a brain the size of a kumquat. Dogs that bark from their own yards, inside their owners’ homes or running along fences don’t shake most bikers. But bad dogs, “yip-yip dogs” and crazy canines that are untrained, unsecured or who have bitten and tasted flesh and blood are another story entirely. While you may encounter a large growling dog head-on, it’s usually the small to medium sized dogs that come at you from behind that can be the most dangerous. Like “heat seeking missiles” these animals can cause fatal crashes. My wife has been known to set land speed records on her bicycle when a pack of “yip-yip” dogs chases her down a rural road. It can be terrifying, dangerous and even deadly. At ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd., we have helped cyclists, postal workers, police officers, deliverymen, swimmers, joggers and children who have been attacked and savagely bitten by dogs. These cases almost always involve permanent injuries, scarring and a lifelong fear of dogs.

While the injuries in dog attack and animal bite cases are usually objectively verifiable and the scarring permanent, proving legal causation in an “unwitnessed dog attack” can be more difficult. When a cyclist, runner or delivery worker is chased, attacked and bitten by a dog (or pack of dogs), and there are no others who witness the vicious attack that can be identified or are known to the innocent plaintiff, the Defendant dog owners’ homeowner and other insurance companies will deny the injured victim’s claim. The Landau personal injury team investigates these cases in order to overcome the insurance companies’ denials and defenses.

The “911” tapes of the emergency calls can yield helpful information and witness identification information, especially where the biker has sustained a head injury, been knocked out or had a traumatic brain injury. We have seen cases where the bicyclist has had a concussion or gone into shock from blood loss, and not regained consciousness until in the ambulance or helicopter during transportation to the Emergency Room. The police, fire and rescue teams arrive long after the dogs have disbursed and the attack on the cyclist, jogger, postal worker or deliveryman have ended. Tomorrow’s post will examine physical data that can help support the audio evidence of a vicious dog or other animal attack on a peloton, lone cyclist, jogger or pedestrian.