According to statistics, dog bites do not only lead to painful trauma but also to infection, scarring, and a psychological traumatic experience over a long term. In an urban setting like the city of Atlanta, where most owners own pets, it helps to understand how to act in the aftermath of a dog bite to benefit both your health and your interests.

What Immediate Steps Should You Take After a Dog Bite?

The city of Atlanta is heavily populated, which increases the risk of a dog bite case occurring in the urban park settings as well as on sidewalks and within apartment complexes. 

The victims who sustain injuries can end up needing legal assistance later, and that is when the services of dedicated attorneys for dog bite injury cases come in handy. These experts are able to pursue liability and establish whether negligence has been involved, and also obtain compensation to cover medical expenses, lost income, and damages.

Immediate Medical Care

The initial course of action would be to take care of the dedicated attorneys for dog bite injury cases by transporting them to a hospital. Despite such a minor wound, a severe infection can develop since animal mouth bacteria can propagate rapidly. 

Clean the wound using our warm water and soap, and dress the wound with a clean dressing material. Report to a doctor as soon as possible. Prescribing antibiotics is the option that a physician can choose, or even give a tetanus or rabies injection, depending on the case.

Identify the Dog and Owner

Once acute medical care is provided, look to locate the dog and its owner. This step is important in establishing whether the dog is vaccinated against rabies disease or not. In case you are unable to locate the owner, write down the description and location of the dog. This information matters not only to your safety, but it also matters to the health of the population and legal records.

Dog Bite Risks in Atlanta

In Atlanta, there are high possibilities of dog bite incidents in public places like parks, sidewalks, and apartment complexes since they are busy urban places. The high density of the city means that it is critical to ensure that the victims become prudent and proactive after being bitten, due to the risk of exposure to unfamiliar dogs increasing.

Legal Support After a Dog Bite

Dog bite victims can also require a lawyer, particularly when loss of wages or medical costs has occurred or there is the emotional scarring associated with a bite. Dog bite law firms can help victims find justice by investigating the matter, determining whether the dog bite occurred because of negligence, and helping the victims seek compensation. With professional representation, your rights are guaranteed, and you are assisted in the recovery process.

How Do You Document and Report the Incident?

One useful building block to an effective injury case is evidence. Victims should:

• Take a picture of the wound at the beginning and document this during the course of healing.
• Present the details of the incident, time, date of the event, and the place.
• Take statements of witnesses in case some people saw the assault.

What Medical Checks Should You Get After a Dog Bite?

Once the wound is washed and bandaged, the patient should start getting medical examinations on:

• Risk of rabies: Physicians can provide rabies injections when the canine is not vaccinated against the condition
• Tetanus shot: Required when your last shot was more than 5 years ago.
• Signs of infection: Redness, swelling, pus, and fever should alert you to possible infection.

Physicians can also conduct X-rays in case of the bite being close to bones or joints.

Key Takeaways

• Get medical treatment right away once.
• Determine the name of the dog and the owner, and the history of vaccination.
• Write a description of the injury and take photographs as documentation of the injury.
• Contact Atlanta animal control.
• Find a lawyer with knowledge of the law on Georgia dog bites.