A “dog lawyer,” or more accurately, an animal lawyer or animal law attorney, is an attorney who specializes in matters of animal law. Circumstances in which you may need sound legal advice and representation from someone with extensive experience with dog-related cases are not limited to dog bite incidents. Veterinary malpractice cases, custody ...
Part of the reason for the rapid increase in the number of animal lawyers is due to the rise in status of our companion animals and their importance in our lives. Today’s owners often spend thousands of dollars to provide their dogs or cats with the best health care, training, day care, and grooming. For those owners, attorney’s fees are viewed as just another necessary expense in caring for and protecting their pets.
As with medical care for people, sometimes things go terribly wrong. Veterinary malpractice is professional negligence, an error that should not be made based on a level of competence expected of a veterinarian as a result of specialized training and experience, which results in injury or death to your dog. If you feel an error was made by your ...
Veterinary malpractice cases, custody issues in divorces, and landlord-tenant disputes are just a few examples of when an animal law attorney can help with legal issues pertaining to your dog.
If you feel an error was made by your veterinarian in treating your pet, an animal law attorney can help you determine if the case is actionable (malpractice) or a case of simple negligence (carelessness) that does not constitute malpractice.
In 2000, nine law schools in the U.S. offered courses in animal law. According to the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF), the number offering animal law courses has now increased to 100 of the 200 law schools approved by the American Bar Association. A decade ago, an attorney specializing in animal law might have raised eyebrows. But high profile legal cases in recent years involving dog fighting rings, tainted pet foods, and pet trusts amounting to millions of dollars, in addition to a greater presence of the animal welfare and animal rights movements in the legal arena, have added credibility and legitimacy to this fast emerging area of law.
A relatively new and diverse legal specialty, animal law is an umbrella term encompassing all types of non-human animals. Animal law includes animals used in research, sports or entertainment, livestock, animals in the wild and wild animals in captivity, as well as companion animals.
And when a suspect in an interrogation told detectives to “just give me a lawyer dog,” the Louisiana Supreme Court ruled that the suspect was, in fact, asking for a “lawyer dog,” and not invoking his constitutional right to counsel.
The punctuation, arguably critical to Demesme’s use of the sobriquet “dog,” was provided by the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s office in a brief, and then adopted by Louisiana Associate Supreme Court Justice Scott J. Crichton. Demesme subsequently made admissions to the crime, prosecutors said, and was charged with aggravated rape ...
When a friend says, “I’ll hit you up later dog,” he is stating that he will call again sometime. He is not calling the person a “later dog.”
Orleans Parish Assistant District Attorney Kyle Daly responded in his brief that Demesme’s “reference to a lawyer did not constitute an unambiguous invocation of his right to counsel, because the defendant communicated that whether he actually wanted a lawyer was dependent on the subjective beliefs of the officers.” Daly added, “A reasonable officer under the circumstances would have understood, as [the detectives] did, that the defendant only might be invoking his right to counsel.”
Crichton then concluded: “In my view, the defendant’s ambiguous and equivocal reference to a ‘lawyer dog’ does not constitute an invocation ...
Why Should I Contact Pintas & Mullins Law Firm to Handle My Dog Bite Claim?
After gathering information, your lawyer may file a claim with the dog owner’s insurance company.
The owner may not be liable for your losses in all situations, though. In some cases, a dog bite may classify as justified. For example, if you provoke or harm a dog before the attack, the owner may not be responsible for covering your medical expenses and other losses.
Finally, a dog’s owner may not be liable for a dog bite if you were on their property illegally when the incident occurred. Entering someone else’s property without permission may classify as trespassing. If you suffer a dog bite while illegally trespassing on someone else’s property, they may not hold liability for the attack.