You can generally sue the dog’s owner for a dog bite, especially if the owner was acting negligently.People view dogs to be their best friends, for the most part. The issue is that these dogs – especially older ones – can bite. While dog bites are extremely rare, they do occur. If you’ve ever been bitten by a dog, rest assured that you can get a financial settlement from his or her owner, especially if you can prove that the owner was acting negligently.
How to prove that the Owner was Negligent?
So, how do you prove that the owner of a dog who bit you was acting negligently? You must prove that the following occurred:
● The owner didn’t exercise a reasonable duty of care to control his or her dog
● The owner was acting negligently by failing to exercise a duty of care
● The negligence caused your bodily injuries and/or pain and suffering.
You also have to prove that the injury was one that could not be reasonably foreseen. The courts will look at this when deciding if you should be awarded a settlement. Most dog bite lawsuits are based solely on owner negligence. Owners are strictly liable for all of their dog’s actions in most states. Some states use the one bite rule which states that owners should have known that their dogs could bite even if these dogs had no inclination to, as per personal injury lawyer in St Thomas.
Sometimes, no duty of care exists
Thus, when would the owner not have a duty of care towards his or her dog’s actions? Well, how about if you were trespassing on the owner’s property? Then no the owner would have no duty of care. In fact, the owner may even encourage his or her dog to bite you!
What comprises Duty of Care?
● Signs and other elements of warning – a beware of dog sign in the backyard suffices.
● Biting history – owners have an especial duty of care if their dogs have a history of biting people
● Lineage – some lineages and breeds of dog are more inclined to bite
● Owner violating the law – the owner has a duty of care if he or she was violating the law when the dog bite occurred.
How to Minimize the risk of dog bites?
Make sure that your dog is comfortable around people. This will substantially reduce the risk of your dog biting people. Additionally, it is important to muzzle your dog if you are taking it out in public and has a tendency to be dangerous to others.
Negligence can cause injuries even if it’s not directly correlated. Yes, if a cyclist got scared by your barking dog and fell, the courts would probably uphold any lawsuit the cyclist would bring against you.