How do I sue my neighbor for reckless endangerment?
His dog bit me and $500 went from my pocket to the doctor.
Is there any limit as to how much I can sue him?
Answers:
Call him first and ask who his insurance carrier is. Tell him you want to file a claim with them because of the dog bite. If he won't give it to you, file an action in the small claims court for the money you spent, $500, plus filing fees.
call lawyer
Reckless endangerment is a criminal charge, you cannot sue anyone on a criminal charge.
Get a lawyer.
did you file a police report?
how do you plan to prove his dog bit you?
did you document the stress and discomfort the dog bite put you through?
oh and BTW, yer the problem with America
did you even ask your neighbor to pay for you Dr.s bill? or are you just interested in free money any way you can get it
Well, first you should contact the police, because most states and cities now have laws about keeping dogs that bite or are considered to be dangerous. Also, a police report is good evidence to keep for that lawsuit.
You should also contact this neighbor and see if he will pay those medical bills and you two can settle it without going to court. That will likely be the best way, because unless you can prove the dog is dangerous and violent andthe owner knew, etc., you probably won't get more than what you paid to your doctor (quit being so sue-happy all the time, it's not always the best way to resolve an issue).
Then, contact a personal injury attorney (it just is way easier than doing it yourself, and they'll do it with no money down most of the time) and you can get, at the least, your medical expenses and damages, and probably more if there is past evidence of the dog being dangerous. The attorney will help investigate that as well.
I'm sure there is a limit as to how much you can sue for, both depending on where you live and the extent of your injuries and damages. If you contact a good personal injury lawyer, all of your questions will be answered.
If you go to small claims, the limit is $5000.
If you want more than that, talk to a personal injury attorney. This is an open and shut case. Strict liability applies to owners of dogs. So, you are looking at pain and suffering, emotional distress, medical bills, lost wages, and other incidental damages. You are possibly looking at a $30,000 law suit.
You can't sue him for that. You must hire an attorney who will file the lawsuit. It's called being an officer of the court.
You do have damages. If you have receipts and you have proof (physical evidence) that his dog bit you. Of course, if this were a criminal action (lawsuit) you would have already called the police and pressed charges.
I'm therefore assuming you have no physical evidence and are relying solely upon your assertion that his dog bit you. In that case a civil trial is all you have. Unless you have witnesses who will actually show up to testify.
You can easily sue him in small claims court if the damages are only $500. That you can do yourself w/o an attorney. However, if you are getting the greed factor in your blood you'll have to hire a full blown fox. Happy hunting!
You can sue him for medical expenses and any other expenses incurred from the dog bite...missed time from work, pain and suffering. I would take him to small claims court, that way you don't have to worry about paying lawyers.
You can start by filing a police report. Call the cops and go from there. You'll have to go to small claims court and file a complaint. The court will subpoena your neighbor. You can claim the doctor bills, and if you were out of work because of the attack, you may be able to sue for days missed at work. You can't sue for missing work the day of the hearing. There is a limit in small claims court and "pain and suffering" money is hard to get unless your neighbor is a jerk and acts out like a jerk in court...and especially if the dog has attacked before (someone else).
You can sue him in small claims court for actual out of pocket expenses, not a b-zillion dollars like that idiot with the dry cleaning problem.
Also get his dog put to sleep by the pound.
you do note that there are lots of facts that you've not posted.
eg, did you kick the dog first? did you take it's food away? did the dog have a prior history?
you might get the $500 back in small claims court. but you have to know what you're doing. you cannot have a lawyer (it would cost more than $500 anyway), and your "reckless endangerment" claim would lead me to believe that you may not be up to the task.
you can, of course, call a lawyer, but the lawyer will need to believe that he'll make money from the suit, which is unlikely.
if you've not pissed your neighbor off, you could just ask for the money, but that's probably not the case either.
good luck.
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