”Helping Your Child after a Dog Bite Accident” is a collaborative post and includes affiliate links. Please see the disclosure page for more information. Disclaimer – always verify medical information with your doctor or a professional and follow all laws for your location.
A dog bite can be a traumatic event for any person, especially a young kid. I can remember being a small child when one of my sister’s friends had be attacked by one of her neighbor’s unsupervised dogs. It took several surgeries and many plastic surgeries for her face. Thankfully, it somehow didn’t take either of her eyes even though there was a huge gash from her forehead to chin. I can still remember seeing her for the first time after she was able to start playing again.
Photo by Ba Phi from Pexels
Unfortunately, kids can be especially vulnerable to this type of accident because they are smaller than adults, which means face and neck injuries can happen. In addition to a physical injury, your son or daughter may also develop a fear of dogs. If this trauma has recently happened in your family, the guide below can help you to provide the medical, legal, and emotional support your child needs right now.
Medical Help
A dog bite accident is a big reason for concern, so you are right to act quickly as a parent. To minimize infection and prevent any scarring your first aid plan begins with controlling any bleeding by applying pressure to the wound until it stops. Use a clean towel to do so. Visit an emergency room or urgent care facility right away or call an ambulance.
If you choose not to go to a medical doctor right away, clean the wound with soap and warm water to try to remove bacteria. Finish by applying a bandage and possibly some topical over the counter antibiotic.
If you do not know the dog or its owner, or if the wound looks deep, or if it is on your youngster’s face, then see a doctor as soon as possible. Your child may need a rabies shot. Also, see a physician right away if the bleeding won’t cease or it looks to be infected.
If the bite was on the face, the doctor may suggest surgery to close the wound. Finally, ask your pediatrician about getting tetanus shots if your kid hasn’t had one recently. If you notice that the wound gets infected over the next week (or later), as shown by swelling or redness, see the doctor right away.
Legal Help
After a dog bite accident, your family deserves compensation for the physical and emotional harm to your youngster that results from the event. Getting compensation from the owner responsible begins with contacting a personal injury lawyer like https://halperinlawyers.com/ .
If your child no longer feels safe in your neighborhood, that is not right by any means. Furthermore, they may require multiple surgeries over several years like my sister’s little friend, and the accident can have emotional effects too, such as a fear of dogs that lasts far into the future. Medical bills can be covered in certain cases, as costs for surgery, pain and suffering, and more.
To help get the legal result you seek, reach out to a trustworthy lawyer who handles dog bite lawsuits. Also collect as much evidence and information as you can to strengthen the case. For example, ask doctors and nurses to take photos of the injury and give statements.
Get the name of the owner and their contact information, too, before leaving the location where the event took place. If you are not able to collect information from any witnesses, ask someone else to do so on your behalf that same day.
Emotional Help
Tell your child right away that they are not to blame for what occurred because they might somehow feel responsible. If the dog was properly supervised, the biting action would not have occurred. Have a candid conversation with them about getting close to dogs and the potential dangers of doing so.
While your boy or girl may not want to discuss the trauma, it’s important to do so to help them heal. When they share their feelings, they’re better able to process it and start to overcome fears and anxiety.
If you are not sure if your child is in emotional distress, a few telltale signs to look for are nightmares, crying, and anger. They may also wet the bed. The fear that might be growing in your child about canines can be one that stays with them into their adult years, so it is important to be there for them and try to calm their worries.
Use words that express you understand how they are feeling and reassure them that not all dogs are bad, which may change their thinking about the animals. These conversations you have as a family can help increase your kid’s self-confidence.
If they refuse to speak with you about what happened, then consider pursuing professional help, such as a therapist or counselor. Doing so can help them to feel in control again around dogs, as well as showing them healthy ways to cope with uncomfortable emotions.
Concluding Words on Responding to a Dog Bit Injury
As a parent, you are responsible for your child’s safety and well-being. When they are harmed, it is time to take action to make sure your child is healthy and happy again. By attending to physical, emotional, and legal aspects, you can do exactly that for your son or daughter.
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You are right, more than any thing the emotional scars and the fear of the dog remains with the child even when they grow up. So apart from taking medical help and legal recourse, which are a short term measure, It is important to look at the mental health of the child in the long term, get them every possible assistance to overcome that trauma.
You are so correct about the emotional and legal aspect of an incident of a dog bite. I remember, my younger brother, as an 8 years old was bitten by a mongerel and my mother had to make many visits to the hospital to get him his regular rabies dose. Fortunately it did not leave any emotional scar in him and he is actually very brave when it comes to handling dogs. At that time we were not aware of the legal part.