Anyone whose answer to this is always yes has an interest in the answer. Here is a more useful version.
You probably do not need one if
The bite was minor, it healed cleanly with no scar, there was no infection, you missed no work, the owner’s insurer is paying the medical bills without argument, and there is no suggestion you were at fault. That is a claim you can often handle yourself, and a lawyer’s fee on it may not leave you better off.
It gets harder fast where
There is permanent scarring, especially on the face, neck or hands — valued separately from treatment cost, and easy to under-settle.
A child was bitten. Different valuation, staged future treatment, and Florida-specific rules including the under-six carve-out from the sign defense.
Anyone has suggested you contributed. This is the one that most often decides a Florida case. Fault is a percentage that comes off the top, and since 2023 more than 50% bars recovery entirely — so an argument that feels like a minor quibble is playing for everything. How that works.
A sign was posted. Florida’s “Bad Dog” provision can eliminate liability outright, subject to exceptions most adjusters do not volunteer.
It is not clear who is liable, or whether anyone is insured. Landlords, property managers, businesses, and handlers can each carry separate policies, and what a claim recovers is usually set by which ones respond.
Treatment is not finished. Any settlement before you know whether you need revision surgery is a bet against yourself.
The offer feels low and you cannot say why. That feeling is usually information.
What it costs to find out
Nothing. Dog bite claims run on contingency — the fee comes from a recovery, and no recovery means no fee. Florida also caps contingency percentages by rule, which most states do not.
So the real question is not whether to hire anyone. It is whether to spend twenty minutes finding out where your situation sits. A firm paid out of a recovery has no reason to take a case that cannot recover, which means “you do not need us” is an answer you should expect to hear when it is true.