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Emotional Injuries in Children after a Dog Attack in Iowa

After your child has been the victim of a dog attack in Iowa and received medical treatment, you should be on the lookout for symptoms of emotional injuries. These include fear, withdrawal, depression and anger, and they may occur immediately or some time later.

Based on your injured child's age, he or she might experience the following reactions after a dog attack in Iowa: 

• 5 years old and younger: fear of being away from their parent, crying, screaming, aimless motion, trembling, excessive clinging, bed wetting, thumb sucking, and fear of darkness.
• 6 to 11 years old: extreme withdrawal, inattentiveness, disruptive behavior, nightmares, irrational fears, outburst of anger, fighting, refusal to attend school, depression, feelings of guilt, emotional numbing, and bodily symptoms that lack medical basis.
• 12 to 17 years old: nightmares, flashbacks, emotional numbing, substance abuse, depression, problems with peers, avoiding things that remind them of the event, isolation, suicidal thoughts, physical complaints, sleep disturbances, confusion, and guilt for not preventing the dog attack in Iowa. 

Children could also develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) if these symptoms persist for more than a month. Signs of PTSD include: 

• re-experiencing the dog attack through nightmares, flashbacks or events that resemble the attack;
• avoiding reminders of the dog attack or generally lacking responsiveness; and/or
• sleep disturbances, concentration problems, or regressive behavior (bed wetting, thumb sucking). 

A Des Moines dog bite lawyer might be able to help you get the compensation you need to help your child recover physically and emotionally from the dog attack in Iowa. You might be eligible for compensation for current and future medical expenses, pain and suffering and time you missed from work to care for your child. 

Contacting a Des Moines Dog Bite Lawyer

The Des Moines dog bite lawyer team at Walker, Billingsley & Bair know the importance of medical treatment for dog bite injuries. That's why we provide this FREE book, Iowa Consumer's Guide to Dog Bites. To learn more about what our legal team will do to help you protect your Iowa dog bite claim, contact Walker, Billingsley & Bair to schedule a no-cost consultation - 1-888-792-3595.