Animal Injury, Dog Bite My friend's dog bit me and now have medical bills

[rickie]

Jurisdiction

New Jersey

I was with some friends who invited me to go over to a mutual friend's house for a Settlers of Catan board game party. They have a dog which seems very agitated and barks a lot. We had about 10-15 people come over to the house. The dog was so excited that they put it in the basement. Someone decided to open the door because they couldn't find the bathroom and the dog ran out, probably not happy it was locked in the basement. I was pretty scared and when the dog came over to bark at me I put my hands in a defensive position and I don't know if it got the dog more excited but it bit me. It's not terrible but I had to go to the hospital, get it cleaned up and I had to get a tetanus shot. The bite swelled, got infected, went back to the hospital, they cleaned it up and fortunately I'll be OK but I now have all these medical bills. They dog owners don't want to pay for my bills because of the dog bite I received from their dog. So who is right? Will I be able to force her to pay for my medical bills?

 

[army judge]

I was with some friends who invited me to go over to a mutual friend's house for a Settlers of Catan board game party. They have a dog which seems very agitated and barks a lot. We had about 10-15 people come over to the house. The dog was so excited that they put it in the basement. Someone decided to open the door because they couldn't find the bathroom and the dog ran out, probably not happy it was locked in the basement. I was pretty scared and when the dog came over to bark at me I put my hands in a defensive position and I don't know if it got the dog more excited but it bit me. It's not terrible but I had to go to the hospital, get it cleaned up and I had to get a tetanus shot. The bite swelled, got infected, went back to the hospital, they cleaned it up and fortunately I'll be OK but I now have all these medical bills. They dog owners don't want to pay for my bills because of the dog bite I received from their dog. So who is right? Will I be able to force her to pay for my medical bills?

We all are responsible for our bills.
If you believe the dog owner is responsible, but refuses to pay, you'll have to sue him or her in small claims court.

It's always wise to report ALL dog bites to the local police agency.
That establishes many things for the victim.
At this point, absent a police report HOW can you prove whose dog bit you?

 

[adjusterjack]

So who is right? Will I be able to force her to pay for my medical bills?

You'll have to sue in small claims court.

NJ holds an owner strictly liable for dog bites.

See:

New Jersey Dog Bite Law

I expect you have enough witnesses so you can bring one or more to court.

Go for it.

It's the only chance you have of getting compensated.