Animal Liability - Dog Bites

Scott Smith

Contributor

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Dog attacks represent some of the most gruesome personal injuries that are suffered, particularly where a child is involved (as is often the case). During 1997 and 1998, at least 27 people died as the result of dog bite attacks (18 people in 1997 and 9 in 1998). Of 27 human dog bite related fatalities, 19 (70%) were children (1 was 30 days old, 3 were between 7 and 11 months old, 9 were between 1 and 4 years old, and 6 were between 5 and 11 years old), and 8 were adults (ages 17, 44, 64, 70, 73, 75 and 87). It is important to teach children to be safe around dogs to prevent these catastrophic events from occurring.

Ohio has a strict liability dog bite statute that states that the owner of a dog is labile for damages inflicted by his/her dog if it bites a person who is either in a public place or lawfully on the dog owner's property (invitee or guest). Ohio Revised Code §955.28. The dog owner is liable regardless of whether the dog had ever been vicious before and regardless of whether the owner had reason to believe it would behave in a vicious manner. The dog does not get "one free bite". The only defenses for the strict liability statute arise where the injured party provoked the dog (Ohio Revised Code §955.28). In essence, the dog's owner is an insurer of the dog.

In addition, the old common law approach is also available for injured plaintiffs. Under the traditional approach, if the owner knows or has reason to know of the dog's violent propensities, the owner of the dog is liable for damages caused by the dog. Due to the enactment of the strict liability statute, this type of theory is not normally employed.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Propery Owners' Liability.