What to do in the first 48 hours after a dog bite

The two days after a bite decide more about a claim than anything that happens later. Medical documentation, photographs, the animal-control report and witness names are all things that can only be captured early — and insurers start managing the narrative within hours. This interactive checklist walks through the steps in the order they matter, and keeps your progress on this device.

First 48 hours — action checklist

Tick steps off as you complete them. Your progress is saved on this device.

0 of 9 complete

Your state (optional — shows its exact deadline at step 9)

1. The first hour — medical care and immediate evidence

Get medical care todayEven a small puncture can seed an infection from Pasteurella or Capnocytophaga. A same-day ER or urgent-care record also becomes the foundation of the claim.
Photograph the wound and the scenePhotograph the injury immediately, before treatment if possible, and again at 24 hours and at one week. Photograph the location, property lines, enclosures and any warning signage.
Get the owner's details and insuranceName, address, phone, and their homeowners or renters insurance. Be cautious about a cash offer made on the spot — almost nobody knows what a bite will cost on the day it happens.

2. Within 24 hours — reports and witnesses

Report the bite to animal controlReporting starts the rabies observation period and creates an official, timestamped record independent of whatever the owner later tells their insurer.
Collect witness informationAnyone who saw the attack, or who knows the dog had behaved aggressively before. Memories of the sequence of events fade within weeks.
Preserve the evidenceKeep the clothing you were wearing untouched in a bag. Send written preservation requests for doorbell, dash and security camera footage within 24 hours — most systems overwrite on a short cycle.

3. Within 48 hours — the paper trail

Start the paper trailCollect medical bills, prescriptions, mileage to appointments, and documentation of work you missed. These are the economic damages an insurer actually pays on.
Do not give a recorded statement yetAn adjuster who calls early is doing their job, which is to limit the payout. You are not required to give a recorded statement before you have had advice.
Check your state's filing deadlineStatutes of limitations run from one to six years depending on the state, and child and government claims run on different clocks. Confirm yours in the first 48 hours while there is time to act on it.

This checklist is general guidance, not legal advice. It captures what matters immediately after a bite; every case is different. Nothing here creates an attorney-client relationship.

Why the first hours matter

The two failures that sink claims are the ones the checklist is built around: evidence that was never collected, and statements that were given too early. A wound photographed before treatment shows what actually happened, not what has healed. An animal-control report creates an independent, timestamped file that the owner's insurer cannot rewrite. And a recorded statement made to an adjuster within hours of an attack — while bleeding, medicated or in shock — is a documented admission to argue against. None of that can be recovered later.

What happens after the checklist

Within the first 48 hours your only obligations are medical care, documentation and not damaging your position. Do not negotiate a settlement with the owner on the scene, and do not accept a cash offer before knowing what treatment and recovery will cost. The next step is establishing your state's deadline and whether the claim has the strength to move forward — something a free case review with a local dog bite attorney settles (see the filing deadline tracker).