Dog Bite Lawyer Aurora

A dog attack changes everything in an instant. One moment you’re walking down the street, greeting a neighbor, or watching your child play. The next, you’re dealing with torn skin, puncture wounds, and a fear you didn’t have before. If you know the dog owner—if it’s a neighbor, a friend, or someone your kids play with—the guilt can feel almost as overwhelming as the injury itself.

You didn’t ask for this. You shouldn’t have to carry the weight of someone else’s failure to control their animal. And you definitely shouldn’t have to choose between your recovery and your relationships.

At McCormick & Murphy, P.C., we handle dog bite cases in Aurora and across the Denver metro area with the seriousness they deserve. We know these cases are rarely simple. We also know that Colorado law gives you rights—even if the dog “has never done this before,” even if you were on the owner’s property, even if the owner is someone you know.

Why Dog Bites Are More Serious Than People Think

Dog bites aren’t just about broken skin. The damage can run much deeper.

Physically, you’re dealing with puncture wounds that carry serious infection risk. Dog mouths harbor bacteria that can lead to cellulitis, sepsis, or even permanent nerve damage. Children are especially vulnerable—they’re more likely to be bitten on the face, head, and neck, and their smaller bodies can’t fight infection the way an adult’s can.

Then there’s the trauma. A dog attack is terrifying. The fear doesn’t end when the bite does. Adults develop anxiety around dogs they never had before. Children wake up with nightmares. Victims avoid places they used to go—parks, sidewalks, entire neighborhoods—because the thought of encountering another dog is paralyzing.

And yet, people hesitate to take action. They worry about being dramatic. They tell themselves it could have been worse. They don’t want to cause trouble for the dog owner.

Here’s what we tell every client who walks through our door: your injury is real. Your fear is valid. And the law is on your side.

Colorado’s Strict Liability Law for Dog Bites

Colorado has what’s called a strict liability statute for dog bites. That means if a dog bites you, the owner is responsible—period. It doesn’t matter if the dog has never bitten anyone before. It doesn’t matter if the owner had no reason to think their dog was dangerous. It doesn’t even matter if the owner took precautions.

The only things that matter are: Did the dog bite you? Were you lawfully where you were supposed to be? If the answer to both is yes, you have a claim.

This is different from negligence-based claims, where you’d have to prove the owner did something wrong. Under Colorado’s strict liability law, the bite itself is enough. The owner is liable for your medical bills, your pain, your trauma, and the disruption to your life—automatically.

There are limits, of course. If you were trespassing, or if you provoked the dog, the law may not protect you. But in the vast majority of cases—walking down a public street, visiting someone’s home with permission, playing in a park—you were doing nothing wrong. The responsibility falls squarely on the owner.

What to Do Immediately After a Dog Bite in Aurora

If you or your child has been bitten, the first hour matters.

Get medical attention right away. Even if the wound looks small, dog bites can cause deep tissue damage and serious infection. A doctor needs to clean the wound properly, assess whether you need antibiotics or a tetanus shot, and document the injury. That documentation becomes critical if you decide to file a claim.

Report the bite to Aurora Animal Services. They need to know about the attack, both to protect the public and to create an official record. If the dog has bitten someone before, that history will be part of the investigation. If this is the first incident, your report could prevent the next one.

Get the dog owner’s information. Name, address, phone number, and homeowner’s insurance details if they’re willing to share. If witnesses saw what happened, get their contact information too. Memories fade. Details get fuzzy. Write down everything you remember while it’s still fresh.

Take photos. Document your injuries from every angle. Photograph torn clothing, the location where the attack happened, and anything else that tells the story of what occurred. If your injuries change over the next few days—if bruising develops, if swelling gets worse—photograph that too.

And then call us. You don’t need to have all the answers. You don’t need to know whether you have a case. You just need to know what happened, and we’ll take it from there.

The Role of Homeowner’s Insurance in Dog Bite Claims

Most people don’t realize this, but homeowner’s insurance policies typically cover dog bites. That means when you file a claim against a dog owner, you’re usually not taking money out of their pocket—you’re making a claim against their insurance company.

This is important for two reasons.

First, it removes a lot of the guilt people feel about pursuing compensation. You’re not bankrupting your neighbor. You’re holding an insurance company accountable for covering what they agreed to cover when they wrote the policy.

Second, it means the insurance company will fight you. They’ll downplay your injuries. They’ll argue you provoked the dog. They’ll offer you a quick settlement that barely covers your emergency room bill, hoping you’ll take it before you realize how much your claim is actually worth.

We’ve been handling these cases for years. We know the tactics insurance companies use, and we know how to counter them. We know what your claim is worth—not just your medical bills today, but the treatment you’ll need tomorrow, the wages you’ve lost, the psychological care your child might require, and the pain you’ve endured through all of it.

When we negotiate with an insurance company, they know we’re prepared to take the case to trial if they won’t offer fair compensation. That changes the conversation entirely.

Dog Bite Injuries We Handle in Aurora

No two dog attacks are the same. The injuries we see range from relatively minor to catastrophic, and every single one of them matters.

We represent clients who have suffered puncture wounds that require surgical cleaning and antibiotics. We represent children with facial scars that will require reconstructive surgery. We represent adults who’ve lost function in their hands or arms because a dog’s bite severed tendons or damaged nerves.

We also represent people whose injuries aren’t visible. The anxiety, the nightmares, the fear of leaving the house—those are real injuries with real costs. Therapy isn’t cheap. Neither is the time you’ve lost at work because you can’t focus, or the activities you’ve stopped doing because the thought of encountering a dog sends you into a panic.

Colorado law allows you to recover compensation for all of it. Not just the medical bills you can show on paper, but the pain, the trauma, and the life you had before the attack that you’re now struggling to rebuild.

Common Defenses Dog Owners Use—And Why They Don’t Work

When we file a dog bite claim, the owner or their insurance company will almost always try to shift the blame. You’ll hear a few common defenses.

“The dog has never been aggressive before.” This doesn’t matter under Colorado’s strict liability law. The bite itself makes the owner responsible. It’s not about what the dog did yesterday—it’s about what the dog did to you.

“You must have provoked the dog.” Unless they have clear evidence of provocation—video, multiple witnesses, something concrete—this argument falls apart quickly. Walking past a dog isn’t provocation. Reaching out to pet a dog that approached you isn’t provocation. Playing in your own yard isn’t provocation. And even if there was some interaction, that doesn’t automatically defeat your claim.

“You were on my property.” Being on someone’s property doesn’t mean you lose your rights. If you were invited—if you were delivering a package, visiting a friend, attending a barbecue—you were lawfully present. The owner still has a duty to control their dog. The only time property location becomes a real issue is if you were trespassing, and even then, the circumstances matter.

“It wasn’t that bad.” This one is particularly insulting, especially when a child has been bitten. The severity of your injury is a question of fact, not opinion. We let the medical records, the photos, and the testimony speak for themselves. If you needed treatment, if you missed work, if you’re still dealing with the aftermath weeks or months later—it was bad enough.

What Your Dog Bite Claim Is Actually Worth

Every case is different, but your compensation should cover everything the attack has cost you.

Medical expenses come first. Emergency room visits, follow-up appointments, prescriptions, physical therapy, surgery if you need it, and any future medical care related to the bite. If your child will need scar revision surgery when they’re older, that goes into the calculation too.

Lost wages matter. If you missed work because of the injury, because of medical appointments, or because you were too traumatized to function, you’re entitled to recover that income.

Pain and suffering aren’t abstract. This is compensation for the physical pain you’ve endured, the emotional trauma, the fear, and the permanent changes to your life. If you can’t take your kids to the park anymore because you’re terrified of dogs, that’s a real loss. If your child wakes up screaming three nights a week, that’s a real injury.

We don’t guess at these numbers. We build a case that documents every element of your damages, and we demand compensation that reflects the full scope of what you’ve been through.

How Long You Have to File a Dog Bite Claim in Colorado

Colorado’s statute of limitations for personal injury claims is two years. That means you have two years from the date of the dog bite to file a lawsuit. If you don’t file within that window, you lose your right to compensation—no matter how strong your case is.

Two years sounds like a long time. It’s not.

Medical treatment takes time. Recovery takes time. Sometimes the full extent of your injuries—physically and psychologically—doesn’t become clear for months. And once you decide to move forward, building a strong case takes time too. We need to gather medical records, interview witnesses, consult with experts, and negotiate with the insurance company.

The sooner you call us, the stronger your case will be. Evidence is fresh. Witnesses remember details. And we can start the process of holding the dog owner accountable while you focus on healing.

Why People Hesitate—And Why You Shouldn’t

We understand why people put off calling a lawyer after a dog bite. You know the owner. Maybe your kids go to school together. Maybe you see them every morning when you’re walking to your car. The last thing you want is to make things awkward.

But here’s what you need to know: this isn’t about punishing your neighbor. It’s about protecting your rights and your recovery.

The dog owner made a choice—whether they meant to or not—that led to your injury. They chose to own a dog. They chose how to restrain it, train it, and supervise it. When that dog bit you, it became their responsibility. Not yours.

You didn’t ask for this. You didn’t create this situation. And you shouldn’t have to bear the financial burden of someone else’s failure.

The relationship you’re worried about protecting? If it’s a real one, it will survive you standing up for yourself. And if it doesn’t, it wasn’t built on the kind of respect you deserve anyway.

What Happens When You Work With McCormick & Murphy, P.C.

When you call us, the first thing we do is listen. We want to know what happened. We want to know how you’re doing—physically and emotionally. We want to know what questions you have, what you’re worried about, and what outcome you’re hoping for.

Then we investigate. We gather the evidence, talk to witnesses, pull records from Aurora Animal Services, and build the foundation of your case. If the dog has a history of aggression, we find it. If there were code violations, we document them. If the owner’s story doesn’t match the facts, we prove it.

We handle the insurance company so you don’t have to. They’ll call you. They’ll ask for a recorded statement. They’ll try to get you to say things that hurt your case. We shut that down. Every conversation goes through us. Every offer gets reviewed by us. You don’t say a word to them unless we’re in the room.

And if the insurance company won’t offer fair compensation, we take the case to trial. Most cases settle, but we prepare every case like it’s going in front of a jury. The insurance company knows that. It changes how seriously they take your claim.

We Represent Dog Bite Victims Across the Denver Metro Area

Our office is located in Denver, but we represent clients throughout Aurora, Lakewood, Arvada, Westminster, Thornton, Littleton, Centennial, Highlands Ranch, and communities across the metro area. If the attack happened in Colorado and you were injured, we can help.

Dog bite cases are local. The laws vary by state, the insurance companies have regional offices, and knowing the local courts matters when it comes time to file. We’ve been practicing in Colorado for years. We know the law, we know the players, and we know how to win.

Call McCormick & Murphy, P.C. Today

If you or someone you love has been bitten by a dog in Aurora or anywhere in the Denver metro area, you don’t have to face this alone. You have rights, and we know how to protect them.

Call us at 888-668-1182 or visit our website to schedule a free consultation. We’ll review your case, answer your questions, and help you understand your options—no pressure, no obligation.

You didn’t choose this. But you can choose what happens next.