Dog Bites

The serious injuries that can result from dog bites include:

· scarring

· bites or puncture wounds

· fractures or broken bones

· head or brain injury

· emotional trauma

· rabies

· wrongful death

The law has the difficult problem of deciding when to hold the owners of dogs liable for these acts, which are usually totally unintended by the owner but an expensive and painful injury to an individual who has done nothing wrong.

In Pennsylvania, dog bite law creates categories of victims and treats them differently.

A victim can claim and recover full compensation if the dog previously bit another person without justification or indicated a tendency to do so. This is usually referred to as the "one bite" rule.

However, if the dog has never bitten before, Pennsylvania's dog bite law offers two different remedies depending upon the degree of injury. Injuries are classified as either severe or non-severe, with a severe injury being any kind of physical injury that results in broken bones or disfiguring lacerations.

The severely injured victim can make a claim against the dog owner for medical expenses and all other losses and legal damages. The victim must prove that the dog inflicted severe injury on him without provocation. It won't matter whether the dog previously bit another person prior to biting this victim.

The non-severely injured victim can make a claim against the dog owner; however, the remedy is limited to only the medical expenses sustained. The victim only has to prove that the defendant was the owner of the dog.

Liability can also be based on a common law theory of negligence of the owner where recovery is based on the action or lack of action by the dog owner. Recovery under this concept requires a showing by the injured party that there was a legal duty owed to the injured party by the dog owner and that the injury arose because of a breach of that duty.

This duty can arise from a failing to properly secure the dog or entrusting the dog to someone unfit to restrain it. It can also arise from violating a local regulation or ordinance such as those prohibiting dogs from running free or mandatory muzzling provisions. Also, one who keeps a vicious dog, with knowledge of its vicious nature, may be presumed to be negligent if he or she does not keep the dog secure from injuring others.

Homeowners and renters insurance liability policies usually cover dog bite liability. Most such policies usually provide $100,000 to $300,000 in liability coverage. If your claim is worth more than that amount, then the dog owner may be held personally responsible for all damages above that amount.