Dog Bite Liability

Who pays when a dog injures someone - the strict-liability statutes most states have and what they cover, the older "one-bite" rule that survives in the rest, negligence and leash-law claims that exist under either, the defenses of trespass and provocation, landlord and keeper liability, how homeowners' insurance responds, and the dangerous-dog proceedings that run alongside the civil claim.

Looking for a lawyer rather than a definition? Skip to the state-by-state list of law firms for this.

What it means

A dog owner's liability for an injury the dog causes is set by state law, and the states fall into two camps. A majority have a dog-bite statute imposing strict liability: the owner is liable for a bite (in some states, any injury the dog causes) to a person who was in a public place or lawfully on private property, without proof that the owner knew the dog was dangerous or was careless in any way. The remaining states keep the common-law rule, often called the one-bite rule, under which the owner is liable only if they knew or should have known of the dog's dangerous propensity - a prior bite, prior aggressive behavior, or the dog's known temperament - so the first victim of a previously gentle dog may have no strict-liability claim. The label is loose: a dog that has lunged, snapped or been trained to attack can supply the knowledge without ever having bitten anyone.

Negligence is available in every state regardless of the statute: an owner who let a dog run loose in violation of a leash ordinance, left a gate open, or failed to control a dog known to be excitable can be liable on ordinary principles, and violation of an animal-control ordinance is often negligence per se. Injuries other than bites - a person knocked down by a jumping dog, a cyclist who crashes avoiding one - are covered by some statutes and by negligence in the rest. Defenses are limited under a strict-liability statute: most exclude a trespasser, a person committing a crime on the property, and a person who provoked the dog, and many exclude injuries to veterinarians, groomers and kennel workers under an assumption-of-risk theory; comparative fault may reduce the recovery where the state applies it to strict-liability claims. A "keeper" or harborer who is not the owner - a person walking or boarding the dog, a household member - is liable under many statutes as if they were, and a landlord is generally not liable for a tenant's dog unless the landlord knew of the danger and had the power to remove the animal.

Most dog-bite claims are paid by the owner's homeowners' or renters' liability insurance, which is why the identity of the owner and their policy is the first thing established; some policies exclude particular breeds or dogs with a bite history, and some insurers cancel after a claim. Separately from the civil claim, animal-control authorities may open a dangerous-dog proceeding under a state statute or local ordinance, which can result in registration, muzzling and confinement requirements, liability insurance requirements, or euthanasia after notice and a hearing, and an owner whose dog was already declared dangerous faces enhanced civil liability and, in many states, criminal charges for a later attack. Breed-specific ordinances exist in some localities and are pre-empted by state law in others. Bites are reportable to public health authorities in every state for rabies control, and the animal-control report is usually the most useful contemporaneous evidence of what happened.

Where this comes from

When people hire a lawyer for this

A person bitten by a dog should get the owner's name and address, report the bite to animal control, photograph the injuries as they heal, and see a lawyer before speaking to the owner's insurer, because the insurer's first questions - was the person on the property lawfully, did they provoke the dog - go straight to the statutory defenses. Owners should notify their insurer immediately and should not discuss fault with the victim. The rule in the state where the bite happened decides whether the claim requires proof of the dog's history, which is why the same bite can be an easy claim in one state and a difficult one across the border.

Worried about the cost? A lawyer can be hired for one part of a case only (limited-scope representation), may be paid from what a claim recovers (contingency fee), or may be free through a pro bono program or legal aid; a court can also waive its own filing fees.

Find a lawyer for this in your state

Choose your state to see Dog Bites & Animal Bites law firms in the city where we list the most; your city may be under “other cities”, A to Z. A state marked “Accidents & Injuries” has no Dog Bites & Animal Bites listing yet and opens the broader page.

• Alabama (Birmingham)
  +1 other city

  • Montgomery
• Alaska (Anchorage)
• Arizona (Chandler)
  +6 other cities

  • Gilbert
  • Glendale
  • Mesa
  • Phoenix
  • Scottsdale
  • Tucson
• Arkansas (Little Rock)
• California (Anaheim)
  +19 other cities

  • Bakersfield
  • Chula Vista
  • Fontana
  • Fremont
  • Irvine
  • Long Beach
  • Los Angeles
  • Oxnard
  • Riverside
  • San Bernardino
  • San Diego
  • Santa Ana
  • and 7 more with fewer listed firms
• Colorado (Aurora, Accidents & Injuries)
  +2 other cities

  • Colorado Springs
  • Denver
• Connecticut (Bridgeport)
• Delaware (Wilmington, Accidents & Injuries)
• District of Columbia (Washington)
• Florida (Hialeah)
  +5 other cities

  • Jacksonville
  • Miami
  • Orlando
  • St Petersburg
  • Tampa
• Georgia (Atlanta)
• Hawaii (Honolulu)
• Idaho (Boise, Accidents & Injuries)
• Illinois (Chicago)
• Indiana (Indianapolis, Accidents & Injuries)
  +1 other city

  • Fort Wayne
• Iowa (Des Moines)
• Kansas (Kansas City, Accidents & Injuries)
  +1 other city

  • Wichita
• Kentucky (Lexington)
  +1 other city

  • Louisville
• Louisiana (Baton Rouge)
  +2 other cities

  • New Orleans
  • Shreveport
• Maine (Portland)
• Maryland (Baltimore)
• Massachusetts (Boston)
• Michigan (Detroit)
• Minnesota (Minneapolis)
  +1 other city

  • Saint Paul
• Mississippi (Jackson)
• Missouri (Kansas City)
  +1 other city

  • St. Louis
• Montana (Billings, Accidents & Injuries)
• Nebraska (Lincoln, Accidents & Injuries)
  +1 other city

  • Omaha
• Nevada (Henderson, Accidents & Injuries)
  +3 other cities

  • Las Vegas
  • North Las Vegas
  • Reno
• New Hampshire (Manchester, Accidents & Injuries)
• New Jersey (Jersey City)
  +1 other city

  • Newark
• New Mexico (Albuquerque)
• New York (New York City)
  +2 other cities

  • Buffalo
  • Rochester
• North Carolina (Charlotte)
  +5 other cities

  • Durham
  • Fayetteville
  • Greensboro
  • Raleigh
  • Winston-Salem
• North Dakota (Fargo, Accidents & Injuries)
• Ohio (Cincinnati)
  +3 other cities

  • Cleveland
  • Columbus
  • Toledo
• Oklahoma (Tulsa, Accidents & Injuries)
  +1 other city

  • Oklahoma City
• Oregon (Portland)
• Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh)
  +1 other city

  • Philadelphia
• Rhode Island (Providence)
• South Carolina (Columbia)
• South Dakota (Sioux Falls, Accidents & Injuries)
• Tennessee (Memphis)
  +1 other city

  • Nashville
• Texas (Arlington)
  +12 other cities

  • Austin
  • Corpus Christi
  • Dallas
  • El Paso
  • Fort Worth
  • Garland
  • Houston
  • Irving
  • Laredo
  • Lubbock
  • Plano
  • San Antonio
• Utah (Salt Lake City, Accidents & Injuries)
• Vermont (Burlington, Accidents & Injuries)
• Virginia (Norfolk)
  +3 other cities

  • Chesapeake
  • Richmond
  • Virginia Beach
• Washington (Seattle)
  +2 other cities

  • Spokane
  • Tacoma
• West Virginia (Charleston)
• Wisconsin (Milwaukee)
  +1 other city

  • Madison
• Wyoming (Cheyenne, Accidents & Injuries)

Related terms

Other entries in the same area of law, each written from the same primary sources.

• Assumption of Risk and Liability WaiversThe defense that a person who knowingly took on a danger cannot complain of it - and the signed waiver that tries to make that agreement explicit before the gym, the ski slope or the trampoline park.
• Comparative and Contributory NegligenceRules that decide what happens to a claim when the injured person was also partly careless - and they differ sharply from state to state.
• Contingency FeeA fee arrangement in which the lawyer is paid a percentage of what is recovered, and is paid no fee if nothing is recovered.
• Damages in a Personal Injury ClaimThe categories of loss an injured person can be compensated for - the bills and lost earnings, the pain and the lost enjoyment of life - plus the separate and rarer category meant to punish, and the state caps that limit some of them.
• Dram Shop and Social Host LiabilityWhen a bar, restaurant, liquor store or private host can be held responsible for injuries caused by someone they served alcohol to - the statutes that create the claim in most states and the very different standards they set (visibly intoxicated, under the legal drinking age, or both), the states with no claim at all, social-host rules for minors, what must be proved, the notice requirements, and who can sue.
• Emotional Distress Claims (IIED and NIED)When the law compensates psychological harm on its own, without a physical injury - the intentional-infliction tort and its "outrageous conduct" threshold, the negligent-infliction claim and the limits states put on it (the impact, zone-of-danger and bystander rules), the proof a claim needs, and how these differ from the emotional-distress damages that ride on any ordinary injury claim.
• Independent Medical ExaminationAn examination by a doctor chosen and paid for by the other side - routine in injury, disability and workers' compensation claims, and not treatment.
• Insurance Bad FaithAn insurer's duty to deal fairly with its own policyholder - and the separate claim that arises when it does not.
• Joint and Several LiabilityWhat happens when more than one person is responsible for the same injury - the traditional rule that each is liable for the whole judgment, the modern rules in most states that limit it by share of fault or by type of damages, contribution between defendants, the effect of settling with one of them, and why the rule decides who actually pays when one defendant is uninsured or bankrupt.
• Loss of ConsortiumThe claim of a spouse - and in some states a child or parent - for what an injury to a family member took from the relationship itself: companionship, affection, household services and the marital relationship, what has to be proved, why it is derivative of the injured person's claim, and how it is pleaded, valued and settled.
• NegligenceCarelessness that the law treats as a legal wrong because it fell below the level of care a reasonable person owed to someone else.
• Negligence Per SeThe rule that breaking a safety statute - running a red light, serving alcohol to a minor, violating a building code - can itself establish that the defendant was careless, without the jury deciding what a reasonable person would have done.
• Premises LiabilityThe responsibility of whoever owns or controls property for injuries caused by its condition - the slip on the wet floor, the broken stair, the unlit car park - and the rules that make the visitor's reason for being there matter.
• Product LiabilityA claim against the maker or seller of a product that injured someone because of how it was designed, how it was made, or what it failed to warn about - and the federal rules that can shut some of those claims down.
• Res Ipsa LoquiturThe doctrine that lets an injured person prove negligence from the accident itself when the cause is unknown but the event is one that does not ordinarily happen without carelessness - its elements, the exclusive-control requirement and how it has loosened, what the doctrine does procedurally (an inference, or a presumption shifting the burden), and where it is and is not used.
• Strict LiabilityLiability for harm without any showing of carelessness - the rule for abnormally dangerous activities, for defective products in most states, and, under many state statutes, for the owner of a dog that bites.
• Subrogation and Medical Liens on a SettlementWhy an injured person does not keep the whole settlement - the right of health insurers, Medicare, Medicaid, ERISA plans, workers' compensation carriers and hospitals to be repaid from a recovery for the treatment they paid for, how each kind of lien is created and enforced, the rules that reduce them, and why the liens have to be resolved before the check is cashed.
• Suing the Government for an Injury (Tort Claims Acts)Why an injury caused by a government employee or a public property defect follows different rules - sovereign immunity and the statutes that waive it, the written claim that must be presented to the agency before any lawsuit and the short deadline for it, the exceptions that keep immunity (discretionary functions, most intentional torts, certain activities), damage caps, and the no-jury and no-punitive-damages rules.
• Vicarious Liability (Respondeat Superior)The rule that makes an employer liable for harm its employee causes while doing the job - the reason the trucking company, the hospital or the delivery firm is the defendant, and the reason "independent contractor" is fought over so hard.
• Workers' CompensationThe state no-fault system that pays medical care and part of lost wages for an injury at work without any proof of fault - and, in exchange, takes away the right to sue the employer, though not the right to sue anyone else who caused it.
• Wrongful Death ClaimA claim brought by surviving family members or an estate when someone dies because of another party's wrongful act.

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