- July 21, 2025
They may offer to pay for your emergency room visit directly or give you their insurance information. The insurance adjuster who calls you might sound friendly and eager to help.
They may even offer you a quick payment to cover your immediate bills. In a moment of stress and confusion, accepting the offer seems like the easiest way to put the event behind you. This leads many people to ask: Should you settle a dog bite injury without a lawyer?
While a fast settlement is tempting, it is often a trap. Insurance companies are businesses, and their goal is to close your case for the smallest amount of money possible.
A quick offer rarely accounts for the full extent of your injuries, your pain, or the potential for future complications. Before you agree to anything, you should know the risks of handling a dog bite claim.
Protecting your health and financial future is more complicated than accepting a check.
The Insurance Company's Goal
When a dog owner’s insurance company contacts you, it is not an act of simple kindness. You are now part of a claims process. The insurance adjuster who calls you is a trained negotiator. Their job is to protect the insurance company’s financial interests, not yours.
They know that most people are unfamiliar with the personal injury claim process and may be anxious to resolve the matter quickly. The adjuster often uses this to their advantage. They will be polite and seem concerned for your well-being, but every question they ask and every offer they make is part of a strategy to limit the company's payout.
An adjuster’s primary tactic is to get you to settle your claim before you know its true value. They might pressure you to give a recorded statement where they can ask leading questions to get you to downplay your injury or unintentionally accept some blame.
They may tell you their first offer is the best you will get. They want you to sign a release form and accept a payment before you have finished medical treatment or spoken with anyone who can advise you on your rights.
Their friendliness is a business tactic, and their goal is to save the company money.
Some common strategies used by insurance adjusters include:
- Offering a fast, low payment to make the problem go away quickly.
- Requesting a recorded statement to find inconsistencies in your story later.
- Downplaying the severity of your injuries, especially scarring or emotional trauma.
- Questioning how the bite occurred to shift blame onto you.
- Pressuring you to sign a final release form before your medical treatment is complete.
What a Settlement Offer Might Be Missing
A settlement offer from an insurance company might look reasonable at first glance. It will likely cover the cost of your initial trip to the emergency room or an urgent care clinic.
For many dog bite victims, this seems fair. However, this initial offer almost never reflects the total cost of the injury. Dog bites can have long-lasting consequences that are not apparent in the first few days or weeks.
A settlement is final. Once you accept it, you cannot ask for more money, even if new medical needs arise. The true cost of a dog bite goes far beyond the first medical bill.
You might need follow-up appointments to monitor for infection, a common complication. A deep wound might require physical therapy to restore full motion. Scars, especially on the face or hands, may require expensive revision surgery in the future.
The emotional trauma from an attack can lead to a new fear of dogs, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), requiring therapy. A quick settlement offer from an insurer will not include compensation for these future and non-economic damages. It is a calculated offer designed to resolve the claim for a fraction of its potential worth.
A complete dog bite claim should account for all your losses, including many things an insurer’s first offer ignores:
- Future Medical Care: This includes scar revision surgeries, physical therapy, or additional treatments for infections or nerve damage.
- Lost Wages: You should be compensated for any time you had to take off from work to recover or attend medical appointments.
- Pain and Suffering: This accounts for the physical pain of the injury and the emotional distress caused by the traumatic event.
- Permanent Scarring and Disfigurement: Compensation for the permanent change to your appearance, which can affect self-esteem and quality of life.
- Psychological Counseling: The cost of therapy to address anxiety, PTSD, or a newly developed phobia of dogs.
Michigan's Dog Bite Law Explained
Michigan has a specific law that addresses dog bite injuries. The law makes it clear who is responsible when a dog attacks someone. It is a "strict liability" statute. This means that a dog’s owner is legally responsible for the injuries their dog causes, regardless of whether the dog had ever been aggressive before.
The victim does not have to prove that the owner was careless or knew the dog was dangerous. If the dog bites someone, the owner is liable for the damages. This law provides victims a direct path to seeking compensation for their injuries.
However, the law does have two main exceptions. An owner may not be liable if the person who was bitten was trespassing on the owner’s property at the time of the attack. The second exception is if the person provoked the dog. Provocation means more than just petting a dog.
To be considered provocation, a person’s actions must be intentional and either torment or abuse the animal, causing it to react defensively. An insurance company may try to argue that you provoked the dog, even if your actions were completely innocent. This is a common defense tactic used to deny a claim.
Strict Liability: The Owner's Responsibility
Under Michigan law, the owner is liable for a bite as long as the victim was on public property or lawfully on private property. It does not matter if the dog had a history of being gentle. The bite itself makes the owner responsible.
Proving Your Case
Even with a strict liability law, you must still prove that the defendant’s dog bit you and caused your injuries. This involves collecting evidence like photos of the bite, medical records documenting the treatment, and any witness information.
The Exception: Provocation or Trespassing
An insurance adjuster may look for any reason to claim you were trespassing or that you provoked the dog. They might ask questions like, "Were you playing with the dog?" or "Did you try to take its toy?" to build a case for provocation and avoid paying the claim.
The Dangers of Signing a Release Form
If you agree to a settlement with an insurance company, they will ask you to sign a "release of all claims" form. This is a legally binding contract and the insurance company's most powerful tool.
Signing this form means you agree to accept their payment as the full and final settlement for your injury. In exchange for that money, you give up your right to ever seek more compensation from the dog owner or their insurance company for that specific incident.
The finality of this document cannot be overstated. Once you sign the release, your case is closed forever. If the bite wound becomes infected a week later and requires hospitalization, you cannot ask for more money.
If you later discover you need scar revision surgery that costs thousands of dollars, you cannot reopen the claim. If you develop a severe phobia that requires therapy, that is also your financial responsibility.
The insurance company is paying a small amount to protect itself from all future liability. They are counting on you not knowing your injury's full, long-term cost when you sign.
Signing a release form without legal advice has serious consequences:
- You permanently give up your right to any future compensation for the injury.
- The settlement amount is final, even if your medical costs increase later.
- You cannot file a lawsuit against the dog owner for the incident.
- It protects the insurance company, not you.
How a Lawyer Strengthens Your Position
An experienced personal injury lawyer levels the playing field between you and the insurance company. While the adjuster handles claims like yours every day, a lawyer also knows the law, the value of a claim, and the tactics insurers use.
A lawyer works for you and is dedicated to protecting your best interests. Their presence signals to the insurance company that you will not accept a lowball offer and are prepared to fight for fair compensation.
They take the pressure off you, allowing you to focus entirely on your physical and emotional recovery. From the start, a lawyer takes over all communication with the insurance company.
You will no longer have to speak with the adjuster or worry about saying the wrong thing. The lawyer will thoroughly investigate the incident, gather all of your medical records, and work with your doctors to get a clear picture of your future medical needs.
They use this information to calculate the true value of your claim, including pain and suffering, lost income, and future expenses. This comprehensive valuation is used to negotiate a settlement that covers all your losses, not just the first medical bill.
A dog bite lawyer will manage every aspect of your claim:
- Investigate the Incident: They will gather evidence, speak with witnesses, and document the facts of the dog attack.
- Calculate Your Total Damages: They will compile all medical bills, document lost wages, and assess the value of your pain, suffering, and scarring.
- Handle All Communications: They will manage all phone calls, emails, and letters from the insurance company so you do not have to.
- Negotiate a Fair Settlement: They will use their experience to negotiate for the maximum compensation you are entitled to under the law.
- Protect Your Rights: They will ensure you are not pressured into signing away your rights for less than your claim is worth.
Deciding to settle a dog bite claim without advice is a significant risk. An early offer from an insurance company is rarely made in your best interest. When a preventable injury causes you pain, scarring, and emotional trauma, you deserve to be fully compensated.
Have Questions? We Have Answers. Call Now.
Knowing your rights is the first step toward protecting yourself and securing the resources needed for your recovery. The compassionate attorneys at Goodman Acker P.C. have been helping Michigan families in these situations for decades.
We treat our clients with the care and respect of family and fight to get them the justice they deserve. If you have questions about a dog bite injury, we invite you to call us at (248) 831-1507 for a free, no-obligation conversation about your options.