A dog bite often happens suddenly, and even a single bite can cause broken bones, eye or facial injuries, scarring, lacerations that require stitches, or nerve damage. If the dog bites you multiple times, those injuries can also multiply, leaving you bleeding, in pain, and wondering how this happened.
When the dog’s owner is present, they may respond in a few different ways.
Some owners are apologetic and make excuses for the dog, while others insist the bite was somehow your fault. Some owners might simply take their dog and leave you to deal with the consequences of a serious dog bite on your own.
In any of these situations, you could have expensive medical bills, long-term issues like scarring or permanent damage, lost income if you have to miss work, and other damages. But in many cases, the dog’s owner refuses to take responsibility for your losses. How can you get them to cover your damages?
Call a Local Kennesaw Dog Bite Attorney for Assistance
We handle many dog bite cases in which the dog owner claims no responsibility, refuses to pay, or refuses to provide an insurance policy number that might cover the claim. The fact is that under Georgia law, a dog owner is liable if they know the dog is “vicious” or likely to bite someone.
This is a modification of something called the “One Bite Rule,” a rule used in many states to hold dog owners liable if a dog has already bitten someone once.
In Georgia, the modified One Bite Rule covers several other situations as well:
- Other signs of aggression. If the dog exhibited other aggressive behavior, such as charging at people or animals, biting other dogs, excessive growling or snarling, aggressive barking, or trying to escape the owner to attack a person, the owner should have known the dog could be dangerous.
- Owner carelessness. Dogs are considered “vicious” if the owner allows them to wander around unleashed in violation of local leash laws (outside of designated off-leash areas like dog parks). Essentially, if you aren’t in control of your dog, you are responsible for what the dog does while unleashed.
It’s important to understand that the term “owner” can extend to the person who is in control of the dog at the time of the attack. For instance, if the owner’s friend was walking their dog and it attacked you, then the dog walker might be liable.
What if the Dog’s Owner Says They Are Not Responsible?
There are several reasons why dog owners may claim they shouldn’t be liable for your damages:
They Don’t Understand the Law
If they are not familiar with Georgia’s One Bite Rule and what it covers, we’ll be happy to explain it to them. We’ll also ask if they have homeowner’s insurance that covers dog bites.
Some, but not all, homeowner’s and renter’s insurance policies cover these situations. Sometimes, the owner will be much more reasonable once they find out their insurance could cover your damages.
They Think the Dog Bite Was Your Fault
The most common defense in dog bite cases is that the dog bite was provoked – in other words, the dog bit in response to a threat from a person. Here are some examples of provocation:
- Hitting the dog
- Yelling at or taunting the dog
- Throwing objects at the dog
- Trying to take the dog’s food or water dish or its puppies
In many of these cases, the dog owner claims that the injured person did one of these things, and the injured party insists they didn’t. It can be frustrating to be in this position, but resist the urge to argue with the dog’s owner.
If you can, ask for their name and contact information and inquire about insurance. If they refuse, write down their description (as well as the dog’s description) to the best of your ability.
It’s also helpful to get a license plate number if they leave in a car or an address if they go back into a nearby residence.
Next, please get medical attention for your injuries and report the dog bite to your local Animal Control office. If you live in a rural area or small town that doesn’t have an Animal Control office listed, call the non-emergency number for the local police and inquire about how to report a dog bite.
Reporting the dog bite is essential for several reasons:
- It creates a record of the dog bite that can be used in court, and in most cases, there will be some type of official report explaining what happened.
- The dog can be found and quarantined. This is so the animal can be observed for signs of rabies.
After following these steps, please contact a Kennesaw dog bite lawyer. If the owner is still insistent that you provoked the dog, but you know you didn’t, we will investigate and gather evidence to support your case.
This may include looking for video of the attack – doorbell cameras or security cameras are sometimes good sources – or interviewing witnesses. In many situations, we find witnesses or uncover other evidence to show the injured party didn’t provoke the dog.
They Claim It Wasn’t Their Dog
Dog attacks can be chaotic, and in trying to get away from the dog, you may lose track of it.
That’s a good thing when it comes to preventing further injuries! However, you may have difficulty identifying the dog and its owner.
If this situation happens, you should still get medical attention and report the dog bite to the authorities. Give them the best description you can of the dog, and let them know which direction it was headed the last time you saw it.
Animal Control will look for the dog, and if they find it, they will attempt to identify the owner based on tags or a chip under the dog’s skin.
There are a few different ways this can go:
- Animal Control locates the owner, who says their dog would never bite anyone. Or, they might claim that the dog was not outside at the time of the attack and that Animal Control has the wrong dog. They might speculate that it must be some other dog of the same breed and coat pattern, etc. In some cases, the dog has distinctive markings that make it easy to identify, but in others, it may be challenging to make a positive identification. However, our investigative work to find witnesses and video could make this process easier. For instance, we might find a witness who saw the dog bite you and then run back into the owner’s house.
- Animal Control can’t locate the dog. They will do their best but usually work with limited time and resources. If this happens, it’s still a good idea to contact a lawyer. Again, we can investigate and may be able to find out who the dog belongs to after all.
- Animal Control finds and quarantines the dog but can’t locate an owner. This typically happens if the dog has no tags or microchips. Sometimes, the dog is a stray, and there is simply no one responsible for it. However, in some cases, our investigators discover that the dog belongs to someone who didn’t take the time to get the dog chipped. If we can find the owner, we may be able to seek compensation for your injuries.
In any event, we recommend contacting a lawyer as soon as possible. The faster we begin an investigation, the better our chances will be of locating the dog, the owner, and the evidence in your case.
What About Dog Bites That Occur on Another Person’s Property?
These cases can be complicated because leash laws and other ordinances usually don’t apply if the dog is on the owner’s property. What happens if you go to visit a friend and their dog bites you?
It depends on the situation and whether or not the owner should have anticipated that the dog might be aggressive. Sometimes, we interview other friends and neighbors and learn that the dog has a history of growling or snapping at strangers or in certain circumstances.
If the owner knew that the dog had some aggressive tendencies, they had a responsibility to keep the dog restrained or warn you of any actions that might upset the dog. In some of these situations, homeowner’s or renter’s insurance may apply.
Cases on rental property can also be challenging. If you were bitten by a dog inside an apartment, the renter or the person in control of the animal might be liable if they had reason to believe the dog could be dangerous.
There are also some less common circumstances where a person is bitten in a common area of an apartment complex, such as on the lawn or in the lobby. In these cases, the dog’s owner is usually liable, but in a few rare cases, the landlord may be liable if they knew that a dangerous dog was unrestrained in the common area.
Because dog bites on another party’s property involve complex laws, it’s helpful to speak with an attorney for advice.
Get Help From a Kennesaw Dog Bite Law Firm Today
If you or a loved one have been bitten by a dog, please contact the CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm for a free consultation about your case. We’ll review the details, answer your questions, and explain the options for recovering damages.
If we take your case, you won’t owe us anything until we win or settle it.
The CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm was founded by attorney Ali Awad, who built it into one of the fastest-growing law firms in the country. Mr. Awad and his team have recovered millions of dollars in damages for injured people and their families.
If you’re on social media, you can catch Mr. Awad’s entertaining and informative posts about legal topics for more than a million followers. You can also work with his expert legal team by calling (470) 323-8779.
