Dog Bite Law

Overview

Without a doubt, a photo speaks one thousand words in a dog bite case. In all cases, the victim needs to be photographed at several points in time: immediately after the attack, during the initial treatment (in the hospital or doctor's office), immediately after treatment, one day later, two days later, one week later, at every point where the injury changes or there are additional surgical procedures, when photographs are needed for settlement or court purposes, and when the injury has reached maximum medical improvement.

In the past, it was necessary to retain a professional photographer for most of these photos. Today, the extraordinary functionality of digital cameras makes it possible for a dedicated amateur to take most or all of the necessary pictures.

It must be remembered, however, that these are entirely different than family photos or casual snapshots. They will indeed say one thousand words, so like anything else that will be going to court, those "words" have to be "phrased" correctly. Specifically, the pictures must be an accurate and complete depiction of the wounds. To accomplish this, amateur and professional photographers need to follow the directions given below.

Instructions for the amateur photographer

WHEN		During the day, when the sun is bright
WHERE		Outside, in the open shade The sun must NOT hit ANYTHING in the photo Stand away from colored objects like red brick Nothing distracting in the background No dogs
CAMERA SETTINGS (digital only)		Camera must take at least two megapixels File size: largest Flash: off Zoom: off (but use OPTICAL zoom for face) White balance: shade or auto Focus: auto (exactly on the wound in all shots) Exposure: auto File type: .jpg
PREPARE THE VICTIM BEFORE THE SHOOT		Clean, very well washed. No dirty face, dirty nose, dirty ears. Shaved or hairless face, if an adult. No day-old beard on a man. No hair on the upper lip of a woman. No make-up. No jewelry, wristwatches or chains. Conservative clothing -- clothes that would be appropriate for a meeting at the bank, or for testifying at court. No doggie images on clothes. However, if the wounds were to an area that clothes would cover, then that particular clothing should be removed. If undergarments appear in the photograph, they too should be conservative, and the victim's face should not appear in the same picture as the undergarments if possible. If the wounds are to the buttocks, thighs, breasts or another private area, there must be conservative clothing around it so that the victim appears modest. Conservative appearance even if the bite wounds are on the buttocks, thighs, breasts, etc. Nothing that would embarrass the onlooker or the victim, if it can be avoided. The victim must appear modest. No fashion accessories.
POSING THE VICTIM AT THE SHOOT		Body position should be natural and conservative. Unless it is physically impossible, the victim should be standing, even if the wounds were to the legs or feet. Serious. The victim must not smile. No smiles except where the smile has been affected by the bite wounds. Eyes looking straight ahead, with little or no expression. However, if the scars or wounds affect the victim's smile or any other expressions, then there should be a series of photos in which the victim is smiling or making those expressions, so that there is a complete photographic record. Show the relaxed face and then the expression in adjacent shots. No pressed lips. Mouth to be slightly open, relaxed -- except in an "expression" photo. No crying. No tears. No photos soon after crying. Do not point at anything. Do not point at wounds. No doggie in the photo. No friends or family in the photo.
WHAT TO TAKE		When injury is to the face: ENTIRE head in ALL shots Front view One-quarter to the left Left side One-quarter to the right Right side When injury is to hand or fingers: ENTIRE hand and wrist The OTHER hand and wrist	When the injury is to arm or leg: ENTIRE arm (from shoulder to hand) ENTIRE leg (from hip to foot) Shoulder to elbow OR elbow to fingertips Thigh to knee OR knee to toes Closer shots of wounds Same shots of OTHER arm or leg

Instructions for taking photos on film

Use a 35 mm camera, not a Polaroid camera. Use ISO 200 or ISO 400 color negative film. It also is known as ASA 200 and ASA 400. The brand of film does not matter. Make sure that the expiration date of the film is in the future.

After you take the photographs, have them developed. Ask the developer to make at least 4 prints of each negative. After you get the prints back, keep one set and send the other three sets to your attorney or insurance company. 

If your attorney asks you to send negative, then do so. However, do not send negatives to an insurance company or any opposing party. Do not send the negatives in the same envelope as the prints. You have to make sure that the negatives are not lost. Therefore, retain the negatives until at least receipt of confirmation that the other party has the photographs. At that point, send the negatives.

Instructions for the professional photographer

These instructions are actually used by Attorney Kenneth Phillips' law office. The questions were received from photographers who photographed our clients:

"Do you want prints, files, or what?"

We need the original files.

Send them to us on a CD ROM.

The CD ROM must, must, must have the victim's name on it, and the date of the session.

If there is no extra charge, also send us either a set of 4x6 prints OR something that looks like an old fashioned contact sheet.

"Which file format do you want? Do you want JPG, TIF, or RAW?"

JPG files suit us the best. TIF files are too big for us. BMP and RAW files are not useful to us at all.

"Which file size do you want? How many megapixels do you want?"

The size must be between four and six megapixels.

"How do you want the files organized on the CD ROM?"

We want one folder that contains 36 files, if you took 36 photos. We want only one version of each photo; do not give us a JPG, a RAW, a TIF, etc.

"Do you want studio light or natural light? What kind of lighting do you want?"

From amateur photographers, we want natural light. Take the photos in "open shade" -- outside, on a sunny day, but making sure that no sun is hitting the victim or the background or anything else.

We always remind amateur photographers to do a perfect, custom white balance prior to taking the photo. If you don't know what that means, look at your camera's manual. If you don't have the manual, use the "cloudy" setting on the camera itself.

From pro photographers, we would like studio light because it is more controllable.

It is mandatory for you to put your key light in THREE DIFFERENT POSITIONS DURING THE SHOOT! And it is mandatory for you to do a set of photos with a hard key light, and another complete set with a soft key light.

The reason I need the key light in three positions is that at certain angles the key light will make the scar almost disappear. This happens when the irregular skin reflects the key light back into the lens. When that reflection occurs, the irregular skin is overexposed. The overexposure hides the scar or that portion of it that became overexposed.

This has happened at least half the time from our professional photographers. It is incompetent to take scar photos without changing the position of the key light.

Similarly, scars have to be photographed in both harsh and soft light, from at least three angles. This is because some scars show up in one kind of light and not others.

A raised or depressed scar, for example, is best seen in harsh light. However, a scar with much irregular skin is best seen in soft light so that no part of the scar is overexposed. Scars featuring discoloration might be better in one light or the other. Softer light often is the best because the skin must be perfectly and evenly exposed, with fewer shadows, so that the color anomaly can be seen clearly.

"What do you want to focus on?"

Focus on the damaged skin, not on the eyes. It is the damaged skin that is important in these shots, not the eyes.

"Any special notes on the color saturation and white balance?"

Set the camera to true color, not portrait, not saturated. The white balance needs to be perfect so we can see the exact color of the scar and the exact color of the skin. Use no colored lights and no colored filters.

"What do you want in the photo? What should the photos show?"

This depends on where the bite wounds were.

If the injury is to the face, you must take photographs of the head, not the face. The entire head should show in all of the photographs. This means that we should be able to see space over the head, on each side of the head, and halfway down to the elbows.

There should be three photos take from directly in front, three from 45 degrees to the left, and three from 45 degrees to the right. If the injury is to the face, profiles from the right and left are not necessary unless the accident has damaged the profile.

If the injury is to the lips or near the lips, the lips must be slightly apart, from the center of the victim's mouth all the way to each corner of his mouth. And the mouth must be relaxed, without expression. Start with the mouth open to the point that the victim can feel that the lips are not touching at the CORNERS. Then for the second shot, the lips can BARELY touch at the corners. Then for the third shot, the lips can be a bit more closed BUT STILL APART. Remember: no expression in the face.

If the area is covered with bandages, take the shots of the bandages and then, if you can, take more shots of the wounds themselves.

In a facial injury case, the center of the camera lens has to be located straight in front of the tip of the victim's nose. It must not be positioned higher or lower than that, even by an inch. The photo must not be looking up at him or looking down on him.

If the injury is to a part of the body other than the face, make sure that the first three shots show the entire surrounding region. There's nothing more strange than seeing part of a limb in a photograph, because the viewer will have no idea how big the limb actually is, or who it belongs to. An arm injury should show the neck, entire chest, and hip. A leg injury should show the foot to the hip. A calf injury should show the foot to halfway between the hip and the knee.

Furthermore, we also need some shots that depict the wounded area and the corresponding area on the other side of the victim's body. For example, if the hand was bitten, then we need photos that show both hands in the same frame, so we can compare them. If the leg was bitten, then we need photos that show both legs in the same frame.

"What should the victim be wearing? How should the victim look?"

Clean. No dirty face, dirty nose, dirty ears.

Shaved or hairless face, if an adult. No day-old beard on a man. No hair on the upper lip of a woman.

No make-up.

Conservative clothing -- clothes that would be appropriate for a meeting at the bank, or for testifying at court. However, if the wounds were to an area that clothes would cover, then that particular clothing should be removed. If undergarments appear in the photograph, they too should be conservative, and the victim's face should not appear in the same picture as the undergarments if possible. If the wounds are to the buttocks, thighs, breasts or another private area, there must be conservative clothing around it so that the victim appears modest. Conservative appearance even if the bite wounds are on the buttocks, thighs, breasts, etc. Nothing that would embarrass the onlooker or the victim, if it can be avoided. The victim must appear modest.

Body position should be natural and conservative. Unless it is physically impossible, the victim should be standing, even if the wounds were to the legs or feet.

Serious. The victim must not smile. No smiles except where the smile has been affected by the bite wounds.

Eyes looking straight ahead, with little or no expression. However, if the scars or wounds affect the victim's smile or any other expressions, then there should be a series of photos in which the victim is smiling or making those expressions, so that there is a complete photographic record. Show the relaxed face and then the expression in adjacent shots.

No pressed lips. Mouth to be slightly open, relaxed -- except in an "expression" photo.

No crying. No tears. No photos soon after crying.

Do not point at anything. Do not point at wounds.

No doggie images on clothes. No doggie in the photo.

No friends or family in the photo.

No jewelry or wristwatches should appear in the photo.

A list of the necessary photographs

Several types of photographs should be taken and gathered.

• Pictures taken before the accident, showing how the victim looked before being injured.

• Pictures taken right after the attack will graphically show the severity of the injuries and implicitly suggest the pain and suffering of the victim.

• Photos taken at the hospital will show the severity of the injuries and will demonstrate what was done during the surgery.

• Photos taken by the plastic surgeon will show the same.

• Photos made during the recovery -- the day the victim gets home, the next day, one week later, and more -- will help to describe how painful, disabling, embarrassing and difficult the healing process was.

• Photos taken at the time of the demand for settlement. The insurance company will rely on those photographs to accurately evaluate the claim.

• Photos taken prior to trial, so they can be admitted into evidence and the jury can take them into the jury room.

The proper format for photographs

Photographs must be presented to the defendant's insurance company or preserved for court in the correct format.

• If an image originally was recorded on film, then the attorney should have either the negative or 4 prints, so that the necessary people can receive prints during the pendency of the claim.

• If an image originally was recorded digitally, then the attorney should have a copy of the original file that came from the camera. "Original" means not reduced in any way, not converted to a different format, not cropped, not altered in any way. The best format is .jpg provided that the file size is at least 2 mb.

www.dogbitelaw.com and each of its sections and products, including Dog Bite Law, The Dog Bite Law Adviser, Dog Bite Litigation Forms, What To Do If Your Dog Is Injured Or Killed, Avoiding Liability When You Train, Shelter or Adopt-Out, Anatomy of a Dog Bite Case, and the foregoing text, are (c) 1999-2008 Kenneth M. Phillips. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part prohibited except where advance permission is granted in writing. Please read the disclaimer and our rules for linking and quoting. Reporters seeking interviews are welcome to click here.