When Would A Dog Bite Constitute A Personal Injury Claim?

Sun, 30 Dec 2007 19:31:52 GMT

A Personal Injury is any physical or mental injury to a person as a result of someone's negligence or harmful act. To claim personal injury, you must be able to show that you have been injured either physically or emotionally. In addition, you must be able to show that someone else, namely the defendant, is at fault for the injuries you sustained under their negligent behavior.

How Can It Be Determined Whether A Dog Handlers Actions Were Negligent?

Sun, 30 Dec 2007 19:41:04 GMT

Negligence is usually defined as an unreasonable action, or unreasonable omission to take action or give a warning. An example of an unreasonable action would be a dog owner letting go of his dog's leash when another dog approaches. An unreasonable omission might be the failure to keep a dog away from guests, where the dog is known to play too roughly and knock people down. The negligent act or omission must be the proximate cause of the losses. This means the harmful result must be closely related to the negligent act or omission.

What Are Some Other Circumstances Under Which A Victim Can Receive Compensation From A Dog Owner?

Sun, 30 Dec 2007 19:57:42 GMT

Most states impose state law strict liability for dog attacks. These laws make the owner of a dog legally liable when victims are bitten, even if the dog has never bit anyone before. In the strict liability statute it is unnecessary to prove that the owner or handler was negligent and in some states, the strict liability statute applies to nonbite injuries as well as bites.

What Are The Legal Rights Of A Dog Bite Victim?

Sun, 30 Dec 2007 19:43:52 GMT

The legal rights of a dog bite injury victim depend on where the attack happened, meaning the city, county and state.

What If The Dogs Owner Wasnt Present During The Time Of The Attack?

Sun, 30 Dec 2007 20:14:34 GMT

Sometimes a victim can recover compensation from people who, at first glance, might appear to have little to do with the dog. For example, a landlord might be liable if he knows that a tenant keeps a dog that bites people, provided that the landlord has the legal power to get rid of the tenant.

What If The State Where The Dog Biting Took Place Falls Under A "one-Bite State?"

Sun, 30 Dec 2007 20:10:19 GMT

The rationale behind the "one bite rule" is that domestic animals by definition are not injurious, and therefore liability could be predicated only on the defendant's knowledge that a particular domestic animal had a propensity to behave in a manner that was injurious to humans. The "one bite states" generally hold that:

A dog owner will not be held liable for the dog's first bite, unless the dog owner himself caused the bite through negligent, reckless or intentional conduct, or by negligence per se (i.e., the injury was caused by a violation of a leash law, prohibition against dogs going "at large," or prohibition against dogs trespassing).
On the other hand, the owner will be liable for all bites after the first one.

Who Actually Pays The Damages?

Mon, 31 Dec 2007 19:37:31 GMT

Damages are usually paid by:

Homeowner's insurance.
Renter's insurance.
Landlord's insurance (covering the owner, occupier and/or manager of property).
Commercial general liability insurance (covering stores and other businesses).
Insurance covering employers (protecting employees only).
Motor vehicle insurance (if the accident results from the use of the vehicle; i.e., if the dog and the victim were inside the car, or the dog was tied to the car and the victim was walking past the car, but probably not if the dog jumped from the car and ran 25 feet to bite the victim.

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