Is There A Police Report?
Police investigating a dog bite or animal attack do not usually create a police report. Rather, the report is prepared by animal control, which is tasked with following up to determine whether the animal has vaccinations for rabies.
If the police were present on the scene following the attack, you might expect to find a police report. After all, the police generate reports for many other kinds of incidents, such as misdemeanors, felonies, and even simple car accidents involving injury.
However, your Pittsburgh lawyer in a dog bite case should make the request to the county health department or animal control, instead.
The police will typically not generate a police report regarding a dog bite attack, even when the injuries are significant.
When Did Animal Control Start Prosecuting Dog Bites?
In 2008, Pennsylvania passed a law known as the “Pennsylvania Dog Bite Law” or “The Dog Bite Law,” which went into effect in 2009 and changed how dog bite attacks are written up.
The Dog Bite Law delegated to the county health department — or animal control — certain tasks to both track information about the attack and generate an incident report, which is the first place anyone should look for a written report about a dog bite incident in Pennsylvania.
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This means, you — or ideally your lawyer — should contact your local county department of health to obtain a dog bite incident report. Also ask the fee for the report to send in payment along with the request to expedite things.
To make things go even more quickly, the injured party can go directly to animal control to seek a copy of the report. Often, a state or local agency will respond more quickly to an in person request from the victim. In person, no written authorization is need from the injured party, adding paper to the process.
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