Dog Bites

When Dogs Attack, We Defend

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Dog Bites

When Dogs Attack, We Defend

If you, your child, or another loved one have been injured by an aggressive dog, the law is on your side.

In California, dog owners have strict liability for bites caused by their pets. This means that if their dog bit you, then they are usually responsible for your injuries, regardless of any steps they may have taken to stop the bite from happening.

This differs from most other types of personal injury cases. In a motor vehicle accident lawsuit, for instance, you will have to prove that the other driver was negligent. In a dog bite lawsuit, you don’t need to prove negligence on the part of the owner. It doesn’t matter how cautious they were: if their dog bit you, then they are responsible (with some exceptions as we’ll discuss shortly).

Some other states have laws requiring that a dog have shown prior aggression before you can sue, referred to (rather cynically) as the one-bite rule. This isn’t the case in California. You can recover damages for a dog bite injury even if the dog in question has never attacked anyone before.

Caveats

There are a few exceptions to dog bite strict liability, but these are not broad, and most are pretty common sense. For instance, if the dog was a police or military dog in the course of its duties, then you generally won’t be able to recover damages. The same goes for if you were trespassing on private property, or if you intentionally provoked the dog.

Outside of these situations, though, you stand a good chance of recovering damages for a dog bite injury.

It’s also important to note that strict liability specifically applies to cases in which a dog bites someone. If a dog injures you in some other manner, such as by jumping on you and knocking you down, you will need to prove negligence, just like you would in any other lawsuit.

This makes dog injury cases more difficult to pursue, but it does not mean that it cannot be done. You will simply need to go further than you would in a bite case, and prove that the owner failed to take reasonable precautions to protect you. That’s the same standard as in a car accident case – and we’ve won plenty of those.

Damages in a Dog Bite Case

If you were bitten by a dog, there are several types of damages we may be able to help you recover.

These include:

Medical bills, for the direct cost of your bodily injuries. This can cover everything from initial emergency medical treatment to reconstructive surgeries.
Lost wages, for any time you were forced to miss from work, as well as reduced earning capacity, for wages you will likely lose in the future as a result of your injuries.
Property damage, for any of your personal affects that were damaged or destroyed by the dog. This usually isn’t a major factor in a dog bite case, although your clothes, and occasionally an object such as a watch or a bicycle, may be damaged.
Pain and suffering, for the physical and emotional consequences that the bite caused for you. The consequences of a dog bite can be severe and long-lasting, even after the wounds have healed; emotional suffering is normal after a dog attack.
Funeral expenses, loss of companionship or consortium, and loss of decedent’s income, in cases where the dog mauling was fatal.

There is no cap on the amount of damages you stand to recover in a dog bite case.

The types of damages you will be able to recover vary from case to case. For instance, if the case was bad enough, and the owner was careless enough, we might be able to go for punitive damages.

In all cases, however, we strive to recover the utmost for our clients, and to seek full restitution for what you have suffered. A victory for you is a victory for us.

A Note About Dog Breeds

When it comes to breeds which have a reputation for violence, such as pit bulls, there are no breed-specific laws at the state level.

There are some state laws placing specific restrictions on “potentially dangerous” and “vicious” dogs, but this has nothing to do with breed and everything to do with a dog’s prior history of aggression. All dog bites are strict liability (remember, there is no one-bite rule in California), but the legal restrictions on dogs which have bitten or attacked people in the past may be higher, and this may strengthen your personal injury case.

A number of cities and counties in California do have breed-specific legislation, however, and if the dog owner was in violation of one of these ordinances, then they may be held responsible.

What to Do If You Were Bitten by a Dog

If you are reading this page because you or someone nearby was just bitten by a dog, then your top priority is to care for the bite. With prompt attention, you can keep the bite from being any worse than it has to be.

Immediately following the bite:

The very first thing you should do after a dog bite is to make sure you are safe. Separate yourself and your loved ones from the aggressive dog. This may sound obvious but it bears repeating. You don’t want things to get even worse.
Your next priority is to provide first aid. Infection is one of the major dangers after a dog bite – even a minor one – and your goal at this stage is to slow the bleeding and to reduce the risk of infection.
- Wash the wound for 5-10 minutes with soap and running water.
- If the bite punctured the skin, and there is bleeding, then press down gently but firmly on the wound with a clean cloth in addition to washing.
- After cleaning out the wound, apply antibacterial lotion or ointment to the bite area, and use a sterile bandage to cover the area.
If the owner of the dog is present, or if you can safely locate them, then get the owner’s contact information, just like you would after a car crash. This includes any insurance they might have. You should also get paperwork on the dog’s vaccination history, including the date of their last rabies shot, as well as the contact info for the dog’s veterinarian, if possible.
Take pictures of your injuries, if possible, and get the names and contact information of any witnesses who are present. These will provide important evidence later.

In the hours and days after the bite:

Once you have taken care of your wounds, you should see a doctor. Even if the bite was not severe enough for you to go to the emergency room, seeing a doctor within a few hours of the bite is crucial. This is important for a couple reasons:
- You cannot always tell initially how serious a bite was. Some bites are more serious than they may seem at first, and even a bite that doesn’t break the skin can cause significant internal damage. This is particularly the case if a child or someone else was bitten, in which case you will not have any firsthand experience of the pain (and some children may have difficulty articulating it to you).
- A doctor’s visit the day of the incident provides very strong evidence of a bite. If you sue the owner for damages later, then medical records of your bite are some of the strongest evidence that you will be able to present.
Even after seeing a doctor, watch for signs of infection, and get help immediately if you think the bite has become infected. An infection can come on despite your best precautions. These signs include:
- Redness.
- Swelling.
- The presence of pus or fluid.
- Numbness or tenderness.
- Fever
- Night sweats.
Continue to gather evidence. Keep consistent medical records as well as records of the wages you lost. Document the effects of your injuries, both with written records and photographs. When you write things down, include things like the pain levels and the ways in which the actions prevented you from doing things you would otherwise have done. At this point, paper is your best friend.

If you or a loved one has been bitten by a dog, then give us a call and schedule your free consultation today. We will stand by you during this difficult period and give you the fullest possible legal protection that we can.

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Helpful Information

The Personal Injury process can be confusing. To answer the many questions regarding accidents and the injuries they produce, we put together the most frequently asked accident questions along with helpful guides to accompany them. Whether it be questions on cost, medical expenses and treatments or specifics in what to do ( or not do), we have you covered.

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