Dog Bite Lawyer Lafayette CO

A dog bite changes everything in an instant. One moment your child is walking home from school or you’re jogging through a neighborhood park. The next, you’re bleeding, shaken, and trying to process what just happened. The dog may belong to your neighbor. The owner might be apologetic, promising to pay your medical bills. You don’t want to cause trouble. But the wound needs stitches, the emergency room bill arrives, and you realize this is bigger than anyone expected.

Dog bite injuries are serious. They leave scars—physical and emotional—that insurance adjusters and well-meaning neighbors often don’t understand. Your child may now be afraid to play outside. You may be facing surgery or a serious infection. These injuries are real, and Colorado law recognizes that dog owners are responsible when their animals hurt someone.

McCormick & Murphy, P.C. represents dog bite victims throughout Lafayette and the surrounding communities. We know the questions you’re asking right now, and we know how to protect your rights even when the situation feels uncomfortable or complicated.

Colorado’s Dog Bite Law: What You Need to Know

Colorado follows a strict liability statute for dog bites. That means if a dog bites you while you are lawfully on public or private property, the owner is responsible for your injuries. You don’t have to prove the owner was careless or that the dog had a history of aggression. The bite itself creates liability.

This is important because many people hesitate to take action when they know the dog has never bitten anyone before. They assume there’s no case because the dog is “normally friendly.” Colorado law does not require a first bite. Your injuries matter regardless of the dog’s history.

There are limited exceptions. If you were trespassing or if you provoked the dog, the owner may have a defense. But being in a public park, walking on a sidewalk, visiting a friend’s home, or delivering a package all qualify as lawful presence. Children playing in a yard where they’ve been invited are lawfully present. Mail carriers, repair workers, and guests are lawfully present.

Common Dog Bite Injuries We See in Lafayette

Dog bites cause more than surface wounds. Even when the injury looks minor at first, complications develop. We’ve worked with clients whose “small bite” turned into a severe infection requiring hospitalization. We’ve represented children who needed reconstructive surgery after facial injuries. We’ve seen adults lose time from work, struggle with nerve damage, and live with permanent scars.

The most common injuries include:

• Puncture wounds and lacerations that require stitches or surgical closure
• Infections including cellulitis, sepsis, and rabies exposure
• Nerve damage causing loss of sensation or motor function
• Facial injuries and disfigurement, especially in children
• Broken bones when a large dog knocks someone down
• Soft tissue damage including muscle tears and tendon injuries
• Post-traumatic stress disorder and lasting fear of dogs

Children are particularly vulnerable. Their smaller size puts their face and neck at risk. A dog that jumps up playfully can knock a child down and cause serious head trauma. The psychological impact often outlasts the physical healing. A child who once loved animals may become terrified of dogs, unable to visit friends who have pets, or scared to walk to school.

What to Do After a Dog Bite

The first hours and days after a dog bite matter. Your actions now affect both your health and your legal rights. If you or your child has just been bitten, here’s what you need to do:

Get medical attention immediately. Even if the wound looks minor, see a doctor. Dog bites introduce bacteria deep into tissue. Infection can develop quickly. Emergency room physicians know how to clean these wounds properly and when antibiotics are necessary. Your medical records will also document the injury if you later need to file a claim.

Report the bite to Lafayette Animal Control. The city needs to know when a dog has bitten someone. Animal control will investigate, determine if the dog is up to date on rabies vaccination, and create an official record of the incident. This report becomes important evidence in your case.

Identify the dog and owner. Get the owner’s name, address, and homeowner’s insurance information if possible. Take photos of the dog, the location where the bite occurred, and your injuries. If there were witnesses, ask for their contact information.

Document everything. Keep records of all medical treatment, bills, prescriptions, and time missed from work or school. Take photos of your injury as it heals. Write down what happened while the details are fresh. Note if your child is having nightmares, refusing to go outside, or showing other signs of trauma.

Don’t give a recorded statement to an insurance company. The dog owner’s homeowner’s insurance may contact you quickly. They will sound helpful. They may offer to pay your emergency room bill if you’ll just answer a few questions. Be polite, but do not give a recorded statement and do not agree to any settlement before you speak with a lawyer. Once you accept money and sign a release, you cannot go back for more even if complications develop.

Homeowner’s Insurance and Dog Bite Claims

Most dog bite claims are covered by the owner’s homeowner’s or renter’s insurance policy. These policies typically include liability coverage for injuries that occur on or off the property, including injuries caused by the policyholder’s dog.

This is good news because it means there is usually insurance available to pay for your medical bills, lost wages, and other damages. You’re not taking money out of your neighbor’s pocket—you’re making a claim against their insurance company, which exists for exactly this purpose.

However, insurance companies have one goal: pay as little as possible. They may offer you a quick settlement that covers your emergency room visit but nothing more. They may claim you provoked the dog or were trespassing. They may argue that your child’s fear of dogs is not a real injury. This is where legal representation matters.

At McCormick & Murphy, P.C., we deal with insurance companies every day. We know how they evaluate claims. We know what your case is worth—not just today, but accounting for future medical treatment, scarring, and psychological trauma. We know how to document these damages in a way that insurance adjusters cannot ignore.

When Negligence Adds to Your Claim

Colorado’s strict liability statute covers the dog bite itself. But if the owner was also negligent—violating a leash law, ignoring their dog’s aggressive behavior, or failing to secure a dangerous animal—you may have additional claims beyond the bite statute.

Lafayette has leash laws that require dogs to be under control in public spaces. If a dog was running loose in violation of city ordinance and bit you, that violation supports your claim. If the owner knew their dog had aggressive tendencies and failed to take reasonable precautions, that’s negligence. If a landlord knew a tenant’s dog was dangerous and did nothing, the landlord may share liability.

These negligence claims can increase the value of your case and provide additional avenues for recovery if, for example, the dog owner has no insurance but a landlord does.

Special Considerations for Child Victims

When a child is bitten, parents face decisions that feel impossible. The dog may belong to a friend, a family member, or a trusted neighbor. You don’t want to damage relationships. You don’t want your child to feel responsible. But your child has been hurt, and the injury is not going away.

Here’s what you need to know: protecting your child’s rights is not about blame. It’s about making sure they get the care they need now and in the future. Facial scars may require multiple reconstructive surgeries as your child grows. Psychological trauma may need years of counseling. These costs are real, and your child deserves to have them covered.

Filing a claim against the dog owner’s insurance is not a betrayal. It’s making sure your child’s injury is treated as seriously as it is. Most reasonable people understand this. If a relationship cannot survive you protecting your child’s health and future, that relationship was already broken.

In Colorado, parents have the legal authority to pursue claims on behalf of minor children. If your child was bitten, you can file a claim for their medical bills, pain and suffering, scarring, and emotional distress. In some cases, parents can also recover for their own emotional distress from witnessing the attack.

The Timeline for Dog Bite Claims in Colorado

Colorado law gives you two years from the date of the dog bite to file a lawsuit. This is called the statute of limitations. If you do not file within two years, you lose your right to recover compensation even if your claim is otherwise valid.

Two years may sound like a long time, but it passes quickly. Medical treatment takes time. Scars take time to assess. Insurance negotiations take time. Evidence becomes harder to gather as months pass. Witnesses forget details. Photos disappear. Animal control records get archived.

The best time to speak with a lawyer is now, while the incident is recent and your options are clear. We can begin investigating immediately, preserve evidence, and negotiate with the insurance company while you focus on healing. If you wait until the statute of limitations is approaching, your options narrow and your leverage decreases.

What Compensation Can You Recover?

A dog bite claim can include several types of damages. We fight to recover full compensation for every way the bite has affected your life:

Medical expenses: Emergency room treatment, hospitalization, surgery, reconstructive procedures, physical therapy, medication, and future medical care related to the bite.

Lost wages: Time missed from work due to medical appointments, recovery, or caring for an injured child. If your injuries prevent you from returning to your job, we pursue compensation for lost earning capacity.

Pain and suffering: The physical pain of the injury and the emotional distress it causes. This includes anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, and fear of dogs.

Scarring and disfigurement: Permanent scars, especially on visible areas like the face, hands, and arms, have significant value. We work with medical experts to assess the long-term cosmetic impact and the potential for future revision surgeries.

Loss of enjoyment of life: If the bite has prevented you from activities you once enjoyed—running, playing with your own pets, going to parks—that loss has value.

Insurance companies will try to minimize these damages. They’ll argue that your child will “get over it” or that a scar isn’t that bad. We don’t let them. Your injury is real, your trauma is valid, and you deserve full compensation for every way this bite has changed your life.

Why Choose McCormick & Murphy, P.C.

Kirk McCormick and Jay Murphy have represented personal injury victims throughout the Denver metro area, including Lafayette, for years. We focus on personal injury cases, which means we know the law, the medical issues, and the insurance tactics specific to these claims. We’re not a general practice firm handling dog bites on the side. This is what we do.

When you work with us, you work directly with Kirk or Jay—not a paralegal, not a case manager, but an experienced attorney who will handle your case from start to finish. We answer our phones. We return calls. We explain what’s happening in language that makes sense.

We operate on a contingency fee basis. You pay nothing upfront, and we only get paid if we recover compensation for you. That means we don’t take cases we don’t believe in, and we don’t settle for less than your case is worth just to close a file.

Our office is located in Denver, and we serve clients throughout Lafayette, Wheat Ridge, Lakewood, Arvada, Westminster, Thornton, Northglenn, Commerce City, Aurora, Englewood, Littleton, Centennial, Greenwood Village, Lone Tree, Parker, Highlands Ranch, Castle Rock, Broomfield, Brighton, Longmont, Boulder, Louisville, Superior, Erie, Golden, Morrison, Evergreen, Conifer, Bailey, Pine, Idaho Springs, Georgetown, Estes Park, Fort Collins, Loveland, and Greeley.

You Don’t Have to Face This Alone

The hours after a dog bite are overwhelming. You’re dealing with medical decisions, worried about infection, trying to comfort a scared child, and wondering what happens next. The last thing you want to think about is lawyers and insurance claims.

But waiting makes everything harder. Evidence fades. Insurance companies take advantage. Medical bills pile up without explanation of who’s responsible. The stress compounds when it doesn’t have to.

One phone call can change that. We’ll explain your rights, investigate your claim, and handle the insurance company while you focus on recovery. You don’t have to figure this out alone. You don’t have to accept the first offer an adjuster makes. You don’t have to wonder if you’re doing the right thing.

Call McCormick & Murphy, P.C. at 888-668-1182 to schedule a free consultation. We’ll review what happened, explain your options, and help you decide what makes sense for your situation. There’s no obligation and no upfront cost. Just honest advice from attorneys who’ve been doing this work long enough to know what your case is really worth.