Luật sư chuyên về các vụ cắn người do chó gây ra tại Lancaster

Yes. Lancaster's animal control is provided by Los Angeles County Animal Care and Control, and its North County Communication Center at (661) 940-4191 is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. An officer is dispatched from the Lancaster Animal Care Center to take the bite report, identify the dog, and set up the 10-day rabies observation. If the dog is still loose and dangerous or someone needs an ambulance, call 911 first and report to animal control afterward.

Antelope Valley Medical Center in Lancaster is a Level II trauma center, the only one within 50 miles by the hospital's own account, with trauma surgeons on duty or on call around the clock, so it is the right destination for a deep, bleeding, or facial bite. Palmdale Regional Medical Center has a 24-hour emergency department but is not a designated trauma center. For a child with a severe facial or hand injury, ask about transfer to Children's Hospital Los Angeles, the county's Level I pediatric trauma center.

Lancaster adopted the Los Angeles County animal code, which requires a dog on public property or in a shared area of private property to be on a leash no longer than six feet, held by someone able to control it, and prohibits dogs from running at large. When an owner breaks that rule and a bite or knock-down follows, California law presumes the owner was negligent. That presumption supports a claim even where the strict-liability statute does not apply, such as a non-bite injury or a claim against a dog sitter.

It depends on the facts. If the dog was a department K-9 or the deputy was acting within the scope of employment, the claim may be against the county, and a written claim must be filed with the agency within six months of the bite, with no extension because your son is a minor. If the dog was the deputy's personal pet at home, the ordinary rules apply and the deputy's homeowner insurance is the likely source of payment. Either way, get the facts to a lawyer quickly.

Only your percentage of fault, and never all of it unless you were found completely responsible. California uses pure comparative fault, so a victim found 30 percent at fault on $80,000 in damages still recovers $56,000. Provocation is folded into that percentage rather than treated as a complete defense. Insurers know this, which is why they push for a recorded statement and phrase questions to get you to accept blame. Speak with a lawyer before you give one.

Use your health insurance or Medi-Cal for treatment now and let the claim reimburse the cost later. Under California's Howell rule, the recoverable medical damage is what was actually paid or still owed for your care, not the hospital's initial charge, and your health plan will have a lien on the settlement for what it paid. The owner's policy may also include medical payments coverage, which can pay reasonable medical expenses for someone accidentally hurt on the owner's property. A lawyer coordinates all of this so the bills do not go to collections.

Sometimes. Under California's Uccello rule, a residential landlord is liable only if the landlord actually knew the tenant's dog was dangerous and had the legal power to have it removed, for example by ending a month-to-month tenancy. Prior complaints to the landlord, earlier bites on the property, or a lease that bans dogs the landlord chose not to enforce are the kinds of facts that create a landlord claim. It is worth investigating because the landlord's insurance adds another source of recovery.