If a neighbor’s dog bit you in Rochdale, one worry tends to come up before any other: “I don’t want to sue the person down the hall.” That’s a fair feeling, and it’s worth clearing up early. In most dog bite cases, the money doesn’t come from your neighbor’s savings. It comes from an insurance policy. This page walks you through how that works, what to expect from the adjuster who calls you, and how we help people in Rochdale Village and the blocks around it get treated fairly.
Who Actually Pays
Most dog owners are covered by homeowners insurance or renters insurance, and those policies usually include liability coverage for injuries their dog causes. When a claim is made, the insurance company usually handles it and pays any settlement, up to the limit of the policy.
So when you bring a claim, you’re really asking an insurer to do what the owner paid it to do. Your neighbor usually never writes a check. Many people feel better once they understand that.
We explain more about this in our article on who pays after a dog attack in Queens.
When the Adjuster Calls
Soon after a bite is reported, you may hear from someone at the owner’s insurance company. They’re often polite and easy to talk to. It helps to remember whose side they’re on. The adjuster’s job is to close the claim for as little as the company can.
Here’s what they commonly ask for:
- A recorded statement about what happened
- A signed medical authorization letting them pull your records
- Your agreement to a quick settlement, sometimes before your wounds have healed
You don’t have to agree to any of this. You can politely decline to give a recorded statement before you’ve spoken with a lawyer. A casual comment like “I guess I startled him” or “I’m fine, really” can be played back later to argue the bite was your fault or wasn’t serious.
Why fast offers are usually low
A first offer often arrives before anyone knows whether you’ll need scar treatment, counseling for a frightened child, or more time off work. Once you accept and sign a release, the claim is over, even if a scar turns out worse than expected. Waiting until your doctors have a clear picture protects you.
What the Insurer Will Look For
An insurance company won’t pay just because a bite happened. New York generally requires showing that the owner knew, or should have known, that the dog had “vicious propensities.” The state’s highest court described that rule in Collier v. Zambito (2004). Signs of it can include earlier bites, growling or snapping at people, lunging, jumping on residents, being kept muzzled, or complaints to building management.
That last one matters a lot in a place like Rochdale Village. With thousands of residents sharing hallways, elevators and walkways, a dog that’s been a problem is often known. Neighbors may have complained to management. Those complaints can help prove the owner was on notice, and in some situations they can bring the co-op board or management company into the claim if they knew about the dog and didn’t act.
If a dog was previously declared “dangerous,” the owner is strictly responsible for the medical costs of its attacks under Agriculture & Markets Law § 123.
Policy Limits, in Plain Terms
Every policy has a ceiling on what it pays. If your injuries are serious, it’s worth finding out early how much coverage exists and whether more than one policy might apply. For example, a claim could involve both the owner’s policy and the policy of a building or management company that knew about the dog. A Rochdale dog bite lawyer can request that information and look for every source of coverage.
One thing people sometimes ask: will my car insurance help? No-fault auto insurance doesn’t apply to dog bites, even if you were bitten next to a parked car. Your own health insurance may pay your medical bills at first, and those costs become part of what you ask the owner’s insurer to repay.
Our Office and How to Get Here
Our office is at 1 Cross Island Plaza, Suite 325, Rosedale, NY 11422, a short drive southeast of Rochdale. The map below shows the route from Rochdale to our door. If getting here is hard, we’re happy to come to you instead.
What an Insurance Settlement Can Cover
A fair settlement for a dog bite injury looks at the whole picture, not just the emergency room bill. It can include:
- Medical bills, including follow-up visits, antibiotics and rabies shots if the dog’s vaccination couldn’t be confirmed
- Future care, such as scar revision
- Wages you lost while recovering
- Pain and suffering
- Disfigurement from lasting scars
If the insurer argues you were partly to blame, say because you reached to pet the dog, New York’s pure comparative fault rule reduces what you receive by your share. It doesn’t wipe the claim out. Our guide to comparative negligence in New York explains how that works.
Small Steps That Help Your Claim Later
You don’t need to do everything perfectly. A few simple things make a real difference:
- Get medical care, even if the bite seems small.
- Find out who owns the dog and ask whether it’s vaccinated against rabies.
- File a bite report with NYC Health no later than 24 hours afterward.
- Take photos of your wounds as they heal, your torn clothing, and the spot where it happened, whether that’s a hallway, elevator or a path near Baisley Boulevard.
- Write down the names and phone numbers of anyone who saw it.
- Keep every bill and receipt.
Deadlines to Keep in Mind
Adults generally have three years to file a lawsuit under CPLR § 214. For a child, that time is generally paused until they turn 18. If the bite happened on city property or in public housing, a notice of claim is usually due within just 90 days. Insurers know these deadlines well, and a slow-moving claim can drift close to one without the injured person noticing.
We’re Nearby, and So Are Our Other Pages
We also help people just across the neighborhood lines. If you or a family member was bitten close by, take a look at our pages for a dog bite lawyer in St. Albans, a dog bite lawyer in Springfield Gardens, a dog bite lawyer in Laurelton, or a dog bite lawyer in Rosedale. For injury cases of every kind in this area, visit our Rochdale injury lawyer page, and for the full picture of what we handle, see our dog bite practice area.
Let Us Deal With the Insurance Company
You shouldn’t have to argue with an adjuster while you’re still healing. When you hire a dog bite lawyer in Rochdale from our firm, the adjuster’s calls come to us. Our team has collected over $80 million for people hurt in accidents around the city, the first conversation is free, and you pay no fee unless we win. We speak English, Russian and Spanish, and we can meet at your apartment, in the hospital or over video.
Give us a call at 718.775.3110, or send us a note online and we’ll get back to you.
Attorney Advertising. What you read here is general information about insurance and dog bite claims, not legal advice for your situation.