Many people who are bitten by a dog leave the emergency room with dog bite stitches, a bandage and a list of instructions, and only later start to wonder what the injury means for a legal claim. The answer depends a great deal on the medical side of the story: how the wound was closed, whether it became infected, whether rabies treatment was needed, and what kind of mark it leaves behind. This article walks through those medical questions one at a time and explains how each one tends to shape a New York injury claim. It is not medical advice. If you have been bitten, the first step is always prompt care from a doctor, urgent care clinic or hospital.
Why the Medical Chart Carries So Much Weight
In most injury cases, the insurance company never meets the injured person until late in the process. What it reads first is paper: the triage note, the description of the wound, the number of sutures, the antibiotic prescription, the follow-up visits. Those records become the most detailed account of what the bite actually did to your body.
That is why the way an injury is documented matters as much as the injury itself. A note that says “laceration to left forearm, repaired” tells an adjuster very little. A note that records the length and depth of the wound, the number of punctures, whether tendons or nerves were checked, and what the plan is for follow-up gives a far clearer picture. You cannot control what a clinician writes, but you can make sure you describe the event fully, mention every area that was bitten or scraped, and return for the follow-up appointments you are given.
Our dog bite injury practice often begins a case by gathering every one of these records, because they form the foundation for everything that follows.
Dog Bite Stitches: When Wounds Are Closed and When They Are Not
Patients are sometimes surprised to learn that not every bite wound is stitched. The decision belongs to the treating clinician, who weighs where the wound is, how deep it goes, how long ago it happened, and how likely it is to become infected. A clean, gaping cut on the face may be closed so that it heals with the least visible mark. A small, deep puncture on a hand may be cleaned thoroughly and left open, because closing it could trap bacteria inside. Some wounds are closed after a delay, once the risk of infection has been assessed.
None of these choices says anything about whether your injury is “serious enough” to matter. A puncture that was left open can still damage a tendon or nerve. A wound that needed many sutures may heal well. From a legal point of view, what matters is an accurate record of what was done and why, and how the injury progressed afterward.
If you received dog bite stitches, keep the discharge paperwork that lists the type of closure, and make a note of when the sutures were removed and by whom. If the clinician decided not to close a wound, it can help to ask them to note the reason in your chart. Those details later explain why a wound looked the way it did during healing.
Damage beneath the skin
A bite can do more than break the surface. Injuries that can follow a dog attack include:
- puncture wounds and lacerations of varying depth;
- infection, sometimes appearing days after the bite;
- nerve or tendon damage, especially in the hands and forearms;
- fractures, including those caused by being knocked to the ground;
- scarring that may eventually call for plastic surgery;
- emotional trauma, which is especially common in children.
Numbness, weakness or trouble moving a finger after a bite are worth raising with a doctor quickly, because they can point to damage that is not visible from the outside.
Recognizing and Recording a Dog Bite Infection
Dog mouths carry bacteria, and a puncture can push them deep into tissue. A dog bite infection may not show itself for a day or more. Patients are commonly told to watch for increasing redness, swelling, warmth, pus, red streaks spreading from the wound, or fever, and to return for care if any of those appear. Your own doctor’s instructions should always come first.
When an infection does develop, it can change the course of the case in several ways. It may mean additional visits, a stronger course of antibiotics, a procedure to drain the wound, or in some cases a hospital stay. It can slow healing and make a scar worse. Each of those events adds to the medical expenses and to the pain and disruption you went through, and each needs to be documented.
A practical habit is to keep a short daily record during the first weeks: how the wound looked, how much it hurt, what medication you took, and what you could not do. Our guide on keeping a diary of your injuries and symptoms explains what kinds of entries are most useful later.
Rabies Questions and the 24-Hour Report
One of the first questions an emergency clinician asks is whether the dog’s rabies vaccination can be confirmed. New York City requires dogs four months or older to be vaccinated against rabies, and also requires them to be licensed. When the owner can show that the dog is vaccinated, that question may be resolved quickly. When the dog cannot be identified, or the owner cannot or will not confirm the vaccination, a doctor may recommend a series of rabies shots.
That treatment involves several visits and its own costs, and it is a real part of the harm a bite causes. It belongs in the claim alongside the wound care itself.
Animal bites in New York City must be reported to the Health Department within 24 hours. The city explains the process on its NYC Health page on reporting an animal bite. A report creates an official record that a bite happened, when and where it happened, and which dog was involved. That record can matter later when the question becomes who owned the dog and what they knew about it.
Where the Dunbar Scale Fits In
You may see bites described by “level.” That language usually comes from a scale created by veterinarian and behaviorist Dr. Ian Dunbar. It runs from Level 1, aggressive behavior with no skin contact, through Level 3, which involves one to four punctures from a single bite, none deeper than half the length of the dog’s canine teeth, up to Level 4, where at least one puncture is deeper than that, with deep bruising or slashing from the dog holding on and shaking. Levels 5 and 6 describe multiple-bite attacks and fatal attacks.
The scale is a behavioral tool. Medical providers and courts do not formally use it to decide anything. Still, it can be a helpful way to describe the severity of a bite in plain terms. Our separate article on dog bite levels and what each one means for a claim covers it in more depth.
Scarring, Plastic Surgery and the Cost of Future Revision
For many people, the lasting part of a bite is the mark it leaves. A dog bite scar can be raised, discolored, tight, or uneven, and it may sit somewhere very visible, such as the face, neck or hands. Scars can also continue to change for many months after the wound closes, which is one reason it is usually unwise to resolve a claim before the healing picture is clear.
Some scars eventually call for evaluation by a plastic surgeon. A specialist may recommend treatment now, treatment later once the scar matures, or several stages over time. When that kind of future care is reasonably expected, it is generally part of what a claim should account for. That means getting a medical opinion, in writing, that describes what treatment is anticipated and why. Without that opinion, future revision costs are easy for an insurer to dismiss.
Scarring also carries a human cost that bills do not capture. People describe feeling self-conscious, covering up, avoiding photographs, or reliving the attack when they see the mark. Those effects are part of the pain and suffering in a claim, and they are worth describing openly to your doctor and to your lawyer. Our article on what a dog bite case may be worth discusses how these different categories of loss are considered.
Photographing the Healing Process
A wound looks very different on the first day than it does six months later, and an insurance adjuster usually sees only the later version. Photographs bridge that gap. A consistent photo record can show the original damage, the stitches, any infection, and the scar that remains.
Some suggestions that tend to produce useful images:
- Photograph the wound as soon as it is safe to do so, and again after it has been treated.
- Take pictures on a regular schedule, such as every few days at first and then weekly.
- Use the same lighting and angle when you can, and include a common object or ruler for scale.
- Capture any signs of infection, such as redness or swelling, on the day you notice them.
- Keep the original files with their dates rather than editing or cropping them.
- Photograph torn or bloodied clothing before washing or discarding it.
Photos of dog bite stitches before removal are often the clearest proof of how large the wound was. If a child was bitten, these photographs can be especially important, because children’s wounds and scars can change as they grow.
How the Medical Picture Connects to Liability and Payment
Strong medical documentation shows what the bite cost you. It does not, by itself, establish who is responsible. New York has its own rules for that part of the case.
Under the rule set out by the Court of Appeals in Collier v. Zambito, an injured person generally must show that the owner knew or should have known of the dog’s “vicious propensities.” Evidence of that can include prior bites, growling, snapping, lunging, jumping on people, a “Beware of Dog” sign, the dog being kept chained or muzzled, or earlier complaints. Separately, under Agriculture and Markets Law § 123, the owner of a dog that has been found “dangerous” is strictly liable for the medical costs its attacks cause. A landlord may also be responsible if it knew of the dog’s vicious propensities and had the power to remove the animal, and businesses and property owners can bear responsibility for a dangerous dog kept on their property.
As for who pays, most claims are paid through the dog owner’s homeowners or renters insurance. No-fault car insurance does not apply to dog bites, so medical bills are not handled the way they would be after a car crash. Our article on who pays after a dog attack in Queens explains this further, and the New York dog bite law guide covers the broader legal framework.
If the injured person was partly at fault, New York’s pure comparative fault rule generally reduces the recovery by that share rather than barring it, as explained in our piece on comparative negligence in New York. And if the bite happened while you were working, there may be both a workers’ compensation claim and a separate claim against the owner, discussed in dog bites at work.
Timing: Why Waiting for Healing and Watching the Deadline Both Matter
There is a natural tension in a bite case. On one hand, it is usually best to understand how a scar will settle and whether more treatment will be needed before agreeing to any settlement. On the other hand, the law sets limits. Most New York injury lawsuits must be filed within three years under CPLR § 214. When the injured person is a child, the deadline is generally paused until age 18 under CPLR § 208.
Claims involving a city agency or other municipality follow much shorter rules, often beginning with a notice of claim generally due within 90 days. A lawyer can help you identify early on which rules apply, so that you can let the healing take its course without losing the right to bring a claim.
Children deserve special mention. The American Veterinary Medical Association notes that about half of dog bite victims are children, and its dog bite prevention resources are worth reading for any family. For a child, the medical picture may include not only stitches and scarring but also fear of dogs, nightmares, or anxiety, which should be raised with a pediatrician and recorded.
Common questions about bites, stitches and scars
Do dog bite stitches make my case more valuable?
Not automatically. Stitches show that a wound needed medical repair, but the overall picture matters more: infection, nerve or tendon damage, rabies treatment, scarring, emotional effects, time lost from work, and future care. Two wounds with the same number of sutures can lead to very different outcomes.
My doctor did not stitch the wound. Can I still bring a claim?
Yes. Clinicians sometimes leave bite wounds open on purpose because of infection risk. A wound that was not closed can still cause significant harm, and the reason for that decision can be documented in your chart.
Can future scar revision be included in a claim?
It generally can be considered when a doctor gives a written opinion that the treatment is reasonably expected. That is one reason it often makes sense to see a specialist before resolving a case involving a visible scar.
Should I report the bite even if the wound seems minor?
Bites in New York City are required to be reported to the Health Department within 24 hours. The report also helps with the rabies question and creates a record identifying the dog.
How can I talk to a lawyer about my injury?
Yakov Mushiyev & Associates offers a free consultation, and there is no fee unless we win. We speak English, Russian and Spanish, and we can meet at home, in the hospital or by video. Call 718.775.3110 any time, or send a message through our online contact form.
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Our office is at 1 Cross Island Plaza, Suite 325, Rosedale, NY 11422, just off the Cross Island Parkway on the Queens–Nassau border. If you can’t come to us, we’ll come to you: at home, in the hospital or by video.
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This article is general information, not legal advice. Every case is different. Attorney Advertising.