Dog Bite Case Timeline

Answer:

I had a client that we’re representing on a dog bite case recently ask me, “How long is it going to take for my dog bite case to be litigated here in Mississippi?” It’s a fair question, and I think they were asking just from the standpoint of the fact that dog bite cases are different than other types of injury cases. The reality is that a dog bite case, in terms of timeline and how long it’s going to take to work that case to conclusion, is going to follow a very similar timeline to other personal injury litigation. Every case is unique. These time periods that I’m about to give you are sort of rules of thumb; they’re not etched in stone or anything. Most of the time the length of litigation and how long it’s going to take to reach conclusion is going to have a lot more to do with factors such as how bad the injuries are, how much damages are at stake in the case, and how clear the liability is. Sometimes, liability is clear from a commonsense standpoint, but liability may be heavily contested in fault, from a legal standpoint. In other words, if there are a lot of damages and the insurance company wants to drag things out, then the case can be highly contested from a liability standpoint and take longer. Sometimes, there are just legal issues or evidentiary issues that have to be worked through. Those are all factors that kind of play into any personal injury case and how long it takes to pursue the case. Generally speaking, if the case is not a catastrophic injury, or sometimes even if it is (depending on the damages that are involved, how contested liability is in the case, and how complicated the evidentiary issues are in terms of getting evidence to prove the case), cases can potentially be resolved within three to six months pre-suit, if there’s not a whole lot of argument or complexity around those issues. If the case is being litigated and suit is having to be filed, then typically things move more into a six month to twenty-four month range or longer, just depending on the complexity of the case. Complexity is driven by the value of the case and the extent of damages. For instance, if there’s a lot of ongoing treatment, sometimes things are delayed because you really need to get a sense of the person’s recovery or what type of treatment they’re going to need in the future before you can fully resolve things. Damages, contested liability, and evidentiary issues are usually what’s driving the length of time, so the more complex all of that is, the longer litigation can go, and that’s typically six months to twenty-four months, sometimes longer, from the point where you hire an attorney. All of this is, again, specialized and is going to be unique to your case, and that makes it all the more important to have good quality legal representation involved who can walk you through every step of the way. Here at Brad Morris Law Firm, we have had great success representing people on dog bite and dog attack cases. If you have questions about this or other areas, just reach out to us on our website, or give us a call, and we’ll do our very best to get you the help you need and get you on a path to recovery.