Visiting Hogle Zoo can be a delightful escape from the hustle and bustle of day-to-day life. All of that changes when you get hurt there, however, if someone else is responsible for your injuries, you are going to need to aggressively pursue a personal injury claim as soon as you can.
How you handle your claim after the accident can make a huge difference.
Types of Accidents That Can Occur at a Zoo
Below is a very abbreviated list of some of the most common ways that people get hurt at Hogle Zoo:
- Slip and fall accidents
- Animal bites and attacks
- Escapes or barrier failures
- Failure to follow feeding guidelines
- Heat exhaustion
- Food poisoning
- Allergic reactions to animal fur
- Burns from electric fences
- Exposure to zoonotic (animal-to-human) diseases
- Children climbing on barriers
Unfortunately, children are more likely to suffer an injury at a zoo than adults.
Injured–Now What?
If you are involved in an accident at the Hogle Zoo, you should:
- Call security and get medical help. Zoo staff should be able to perform first aid and call 911.
- Photograph anything that might be useful as evidence. Err on the side of inclusion–you never know what might be helpful later.
- Get contact details for any witnesses to your accident. Guests make better witnesses than zoo staff because they are neutral third parties with no interest in the outcome of your claim.
- Ask zoo staff to create an accident report and give you a copy.
- Write down your own description of the accident with all relevant details. Do this as soon as possible while your memory is still fresh.
As time passes, keep all documentation related to your claim—the accident report, your personal statement, your medical bills, your medical records, records of lost earnings, and anything else you might be able to use. A lawyer can help you decide what you need to keep.
Talk to a Personal Injury Lawyer
An experienced personal injury lawyer will be an incredibly helpful resource if you are injured in an accident. They can advise you on what steps to take and warn you against making dozens of possible mistakes, such as talking about your case on social media. Most personal injury attorneys will gladly offer you a free initial case consultation.
Formulate Your Claim
It’s one thing to know that you are hurt, and it’s another to know how to formulate your personal injury claim. For that, you’ll probably need a lawyer’s help. The following are some legal principles that frequently come into play when formulating a claim for an injury at a zoo and may or may not apply to you.
Premises Liability Claims
Premises liability is a legal principle that holds the owners or operators of real property (land and buildings) liable for negligence if a guest is injured on the property. You might have suffered a slip and fall accident resulting in a brain injury, for example. I
f you are a zoo guest, the zoo is responsible for inspecting their property and repairing or warning of dangers. A “Do Not Feed the Animals” sign, for example, might not be enough since many zoo guests are young children.
Unfortunately, children are the most common victims of accidents at zoos. Remember that if the accident was partly your fault, the zoo might claim contributory fault to reduce your damages–perhaps all the way down to zero. An attorney will be able to help you dispute this claim and recover what you deserve.
Charitable Immunity
Hogle Zoo is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, which makes it a “charitable entity” under the law. There is something called charitable immunity in federal law, but it is not as significant as it once was. Under certain circumstances, however, there might be limitations on the damages you can demand. Talk to a lawyer about this issue after explaining the details of your case.
File Your Claim With the Insurance Company
The party responsible for paying your claim is probably not the zoo itself–it‘s the zoo’s liability insurance carrier. You can file a third-party claim against the zoo’s liability insurance policy. For that, you will need details of the zoo’s insurance company, which the zoo can provide.
Have your lawyer draft a formal demand letter and send it to the insurance company along with any appropriate supporting documentation, such as copies of your medical records. Remember that the statute of limitations deadline to file a lawsuit is generally four years after the date of your accident.
What Does it Cost to Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer?
In personal injury law, the strength of your claim matters far more than the amount of money you have in the bank. In fact, if the lawyer you are considering works on a contingency fee basis (as almost all personal injury lawyers do), your legal bill will add up to precisely zero unless you win.
And if you win, your legal fees will equal a pre-agreed percentage of your ultimate compensation.
Contact the Utah Personal Injury Lawyers at Parker & McConkie Today
For more information, please contact an experienced personal injury lawyer at Parker & McConkie to schedule a free initial consultation today. We have 5 convenient locations in Utah, including Midvale, Salt Lake City, Ogden & Provo, UT. Clients can also visit our offices in Idaho Falls, ID & Rock Springs, WY.
We proudly serve Weber County, Utah County, Salt Lake County in Utah, Bonneville County in Idaho, Sweetwater County in Wyoming , and its surrounding areas:
Parker & McConkie Personal Injury Lawyers – Salt Lake City Office
466 S. 500 E., Suite 100,
Salt Lake City, UT 84102
(801) 851-1202
Hours: 24/7
Parker & McConkie Personal Injury Lawyers – Midvale Office
7090 Union Park Ave, #160,
Midvale, UT 84047
(801) 845-0440
Hours: 24/7
Parker & McConkie Personal Injury Lawyers – Ogden Office
2510 S Washington Blvd, Suite 160,
Ogden, UT 84401
(385) 402-8187
Hours: 24/7
Parker & McConkie Personal Injury Lawyers – Provo Office
37 E Center St, Suite 300,
Provo, UT 84606
(801) 876-4107
Hours: 24/7
Parker & McConkie Personal Injury Lawyers – Rock Springs Office
531 N Front St,
Rock Springs, WY 82901
(307) 205-7400
Hours: 24/7
Parker & McConkie Personal Injury Lawyers – Idaho Falls Office
2235 East 25th St. Suite #280,
Idaho Falls, ID 83404
(208) 418-0633
Hours: 24/7
