Charles is a practicing attorney with over 20 years of experience in personal injury law. He was recently selected as a SuperLawyer by Thomson Reuters, an exclusive honor awarded to the top 5% of attorneys.
One of the most common reasons for emergency veterinarian appointments is bite wounds to dogs from other dogs.¹
Americans spend millions of dollars on medical treatment and veterinary bills and suffer millions more in property losses from dog-on-dog aggression.
You need to know your rights and obligations as a dog owner, how to prove the other dog owner is responsible, and how to pursue the at-fault dog owner for compensation.
Dog-on-dog aggression is sometimes difficult to sort out, especially when a dog attack erupts suddenly, seemingly without provocation. This usually happens when two dogs pass one another closely. In a split second, they can be at each other’s throats.
Determining if Dog A or Dog B started the fight often comes down to one dog owner’s word against the other.
If your 12-pound Pomeranian was safely secured in your backyard surrounded by a three-foot fence when the neighbor’s pit bull jumped the fence and mauled her, it’s clear who started that dogfight.
But if you let that same 12-pound Pom loose to run in a dog park, and she goes after a leashed Rottweiler, one quick snap from the big dog and it’s all over. Who’s to blame?
You’ll have a much easier time making a claim for damages when the attack occurred on your property, and the other dog was not “invited” to be in your living space.
When the circumstances of the attack aren’t so clear to the insurance company or a jury, you’ll need to find other ways to establish dog bite liability.
Dangerous Dog Laws: Check out your local state, municipal, and neighborhood dog laws that ban or restrict the ownership of specific dog breeds, or mixed breeds of dangerous dogs. When the dog that attacked your pet is a dangerous breed, the owner may be automatically negligent and liable for your losses.
History: Ask around to see if other neighbors have had any problems with the same dog. Did he bite other neighbors or their children? How about other dogs or cats? Check with your local animal control center for records of citations or warnings issued to the dog’s owner.
Running Loose: The liability of a dog owner who fails to leash or otherwise contain their dog to prevent harm to others is much easier to prove. Failing to protect others from attacks by letting a dog run loose is, in and of itself, negligent.
Evidence collected from the scene of the attack and other evidence related to the dog and its owner will have a big impact on the success of your claim.
Photographs and video footage of the dog attack and its aftermath are powerful evidence. Take close-ups of gashes, cuts, and blood on the ground.
Get photos and video of the dangerous dog, if it can be done safely.
Witnesses to the actual event as well as witnesses to previous attacks by the aggressive dog are helpful. This is especially true in cases when the other dog owner is disputing your claim.
Don’t hesitate to ask witnesses for their names and contact information.
Knock on your neighbors’ doors. See if you can find others who have suffered personal attacks or attacks on their dog or cat by the same aggressive dog. The more witnesses who support your assertion that the dog had violent tendencies, the stronger your claim becomes.
Organize all your dog-attack paperwork before submitting your demand for compensation. You’ll need copies of your dog’s vet bills, vet treatment records, and out-of-pocket expenses for medically necessary supplies to care for your dog.
Ask the vet to give you a written list of recommended supplies for home care of the injured dog.
Typically, insurance companies will not agree to pay for wages lost while taking your dog to the veterinarian or while caring for your dog at home. If you have a statement of lost wages from your employer, submit it anyway.
After a dog attack, contact the other dog’s owner as soon as possible. Confirm the dog owner’s name and contact information and ask for their homeowner’s insurance company name and policy number.
Injuries and property damage caused by dogs are normally covered under the owner’s homeowner’s insurance policy. This is true even when the policyholder’s dog causes injuries or property damage away from the owner’s home.
Because of the ever-increasing number of personal injury claims and lawsuits, more insurance companies are beginning to exclude coverage for certain dangerous breeds.
If the insurance company denies your claim because the homeowner’s policy doesn’t cover the dog that attacked your pet, you will have to seek compensation directly from the other dog owner.
There are four states, and the District of Columbia, that follow the contributory negligence rule. In these states, if you contributed to your own injury or to your own property damage, you receive nothing.
Insurance companies and the courts follow this very strict rule. If a dog owner can prove you were partially to blame for your dog’s injuries, you’ll lose your claim.
Most states follow modified comparative fault rules. In these states, your share of blame for the attack is compared to the aggressive dog owner’s negligence. Depending on how much blame you have for what happened, your compensation could be reduced, or denied entirely.
Case Example: Comparative Fault in a Dog Attack
Sam was hiking along a public trail with his four-year-old yellow Lab named Buddy. Julie was also on the trail that morning with Snickers, her six-year-old Shepherd mix.
Neither dog was on a leash. As the two hikers passed one another, they exchanged greetings and kept moving. They had only gone a few more steps before Buddy snarled and snapped at the Snickers.
Snickers immediately lunged at Buddy, and the fight was on. Fortunately, the dog owners were able to separate the dogs without injury to themselves.
Buddy was badly injured, with bites to his face, ears, and neck. Sam carried his bleeding dog to the car and drove him to the vet. He ended up with $1,000 in vet bills for Buddy.
Julie was an apartment dweller in a town with no breed-specific laws. Sam sued Julie in small claims court to recover his vet expenses. The judge ruled that although Julie’s dog did the most damage, both Sam and Julie were equally liable for not leashing their dogs.
Sam was awarded $500 out of his $1,000 damages, representing a 50 percent reduction for his comparative negligence in not leashing his dog.
In some cases, you just can’t get fair compensation from the dog owner or their insurance company. If the insurance company denies your claim, or you’re getting no cooperation in settling your claim, consider filing a lawsuit against the other dog owner in small claims court.
Small claims courts are an affordable way to pursue your property damages without having to hire an attorney.
Filing a small claims lawsuit is a great way to get satisfaction. Unresponsive dog owners and their insurance companies quickly snap to attention when the insured receives a summons to appear in court.
While not common, a judge, especially a dog lover, may decide to order the aggressive dog’s owner to pay your lost wages for the time you spent at home caring for your dog. Judges have great latitude in deciding what’s fair and what’s not – and insurance companies know it.
When you file your lawsuit, be sure to include a request for all your small claims fees. The other dog owner will have to reimburse you when you win your case.
Insurance companies have an obligation to defend their insured if they get sued. They might send an attorney to represent their insured, or more likely will just pay your claim. Insurance companies don’t want to spend money on attorneys, especially when there’s a reasonable probability they may lose.
If you win your case against a dog owner who doesn’t have insurance, you will have to collect your judgment directly from them.
Dog owners have a legal “duty of care” to keep their dog from hurting another person or damaging personal property. As much as we like to consider our dogs something more than just property, under the law, they are just that.
It pays to know the dog bite and animal control laws in your neck of the woods, and follow the rules. Obeying leash laws and keeping your dog under control at all times can help defend allegations of negligence if an unexpected dog fight occurs.
Know what to do if your dog ends up in a fight. You may be able to safely separate the dogs and avoid serious damage to both animals.
1. Stay calm and assertive, call for help and give clear instructions if possible
2. Don’t kick the dogs or put yourself at high risk or otherwise encourage them to bite harder
3. Twist your dog’s collar and/or grab the rear legs and move backwards if you safely can
4. Check your dog and exchange insurance information with the other dog’s owner
Once the fight starts, your own dog won’t distinguish between biting another dog or a human. If your dog injures the other pet owner, you may be held liable for the person’s medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering, on top of veterinary care for the other dog.
If there are extenuating circumstances, try to collect evidence to support your defense. For example, if your dog bit first, but your dog was on a leash and the other dog was loose and came lunging after your dog. Try to get the contact information of witnesses (other than your family members) who saw the other dog’s signs of aggression.
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