Whether your dog bite claim succeeds often depends on proving the owner's negligence led to your injuries. Building a strong negligence case requires gathering evidence, understanding legal standards, and presenting a compelling argument that the owner failed to properly control their dog.
Elements of a Dog Bite Negligence Claim
To prove negligence, you must establish four elements:
Duty of care: The dog owner had a legal obligation to prevent their dog from harming others. Dog owners must exercise reasonable care to control their animals and prevent foreseeable attacks.
Breach of duty: The owner failed to meet this obligation by doing something unreasonable (like letting the dog roam unleashed) or failing to do something reasonable (like securing a fence with a known escape route).
Causation: The owner's breach directly caused your injuries. If the dog wouldn't have bitten you but for the owner's negligence, this element is satisfied.
Damages: You suffered actual harm—physical injuries, medical expenses, pain and suffering, or other losses.
Common Types of Owner Negligence
Failing to restrain the dog: Owners who allow dogs to roam freely, don't use leashes in required areas, or fail to maintain adequate fencing may be negligent if the dog attacks.
Ignoring warning signs: Owners who know their dog is aggressive but fail to take precautions—extra confinement, muzzling, warning signs—may be negligent.
Violating animal control laws: Breaking leash laws, licensing requirements, or vaccination rules can constitute negligence per se—automatic breach of duty.
Negligent supervision: Leaving dogs unsupervised in situations where they might bite, especially around children or visitors.
Failure to train or socialize: Owners who fail to properly train dogs or expose them to appropriate socialization may be negligent if lack of training contributes to an attack.
Gathering Evidence
Document everything as soon as possible after the attack:
Photograph the scene: Show where the attack occurred, fence conditions, lack of warning signs, open gates, broken restraints, or other conditions that contributed to the incident.
Document your injuries: Take photos of wounds immediately and as they heal. Keep all medical records and bills.
Get witness information: Names and contact information for anyone who saw the attack or can describe the dog's history of aggression.
Report to animal control: File a report—it creates an official record and may reveal prior complaints about the same dog.
Investigating the Dog's History
Prior incidents are powerful evidence of negligence. Investigate whether the dog previously bit anyone, showed aggressive behavior, generated complaints to animal control, or was subject to any dangerous dog orders. Animal control records, veterinary records, and statements from neighbors, mail carriers, and delivery people can reveal the dog's history.
Proving the Owner Knew or Should Have Known
In many states, particularly those following the one-bite rule, you must prove the owner knew their dog was dangerous. Evidence of knowledge includes: prior bites or aggressive incidents, complaints from neighbors or others, warning signs posted on the property (ironically, these acknowledge the owner knew of danger), aggressive behavior the owner witnessed, and the dog's training for aggression or guarding.
Expert Witnesses
Complex cases may benefit from expert testimony. Animal behaviorists can explain how the dog's behavior indicated danger and what precautions the owner should have taken. Medical experts can document the severity of your injuries and future treatment needs.
Defenses to Anticipate
Dog owners typically argue: they had no reason to know the dog was dangerous, you provoked the dog or contributed to the attack, you were trespassing or assumed the risk of interacting with the dog. Anticipate these defenses and gather evidence to counter them—witnesses who saw you did nothing to provoke the dog, evidence you had legal right to be where you were, and the owner's own admissions about the dog's temperament.
Comparative Negligence
If you share some fault for the incident, your recovery may be reduced proportionally. States handle this differently—some reduce damages by your percentage of fault, others bar recovery entirely if you're more than 50% responsible. Be honest about the circumstances but work with your attorney to present facts in the most favorable light.
Getting Legal Help
Negligence cases require thorough investigation and legal expertise. An experienced dog bite attorney can help gather evidence, identify all negligent parties, negotiate with insurance companies, and present a compelling case for maximum compensation. Most work on contingency—you pay nothing unless they recover damages for you.