The timing is the whole problem. A crush or puncture injury to a nerve frequently does not announce itself while the wound is being treated. Symptoms appear as swelling settles — which is weeks later, and often after a claim has been resolved.
What it looks like
- Numbness, or a patch of skin that feels different from the other side
- Pins and needles, burning, or electric-shock sensations
- Weakness, or a grip that gives out
- Cold sensitivity in the affected area
- Pain out of proportion to how the wound looks
Hands and forearms are the common site, because that is what people put between themselves and a dog. A hand injury that affects grip is a functional injury with a long tail, particularly for anyone whose work depends on it.
Why it is under-claimed
It is invisible. A scar photographs. Numbness does not. Nothing in the file shows it unless somebody writes it down.
It is late. By the time symptoms are unmistakable, the wound has healed, the file looks closed, and an adjuster has often already made an offer priced on a closed wound.
Recovery is unpredictable. Some nerve injuries resolve over months. Some are permanent. Nobody can tell you which at week two, and a settlement at week two is a bet on the better outcome.
What to do about it
Report every symptom, at every appointment, however minor it sounds. “Two fingers still feel odd” belongs in the record. A symptom first mentioned six months later invites the argument that it came from something else.
Ask for a referral if it persists. Nerve conduction studies and EMG testing produce objective evidence, which is precisely what a subjective complaint otherwise lacks.
Keep your own dated log. What you cannot do, what you drop, what you have stopped attempting. A structured log written as it happens is evidence; the same account recalled in a deposition is an assertion.
Do not resolve a claim while symptoms are unresolved. This is the practical point of the whole page. Under § 767.04 liability is rarely the issue — the owner is liable from the first bite. What is at issue is the extent of the injury, and that is not yet known. Why early offers are priced short.
If you have already settled
Generally a release ends the claim, including for consequences that appeared afterwards. That is what it is for, and it is why the timing matters so much.
There are narrow exceptions turning on what the release actually says and the circumstances in which it was signed. If you signed something and have since developed symptoms, it is worth having the document read rather than assuming either way.