Can You Sue Over a Dog Bite?

Dog Bite Liability in Florida

 Floridas dog bite statute, Title 45 Section 767.04, imposes on dog owners liability subject to specific exceptions for bites that injure any person in a public place or lawfully present in a private place. Negligence by the person bitten reduces the owners liability by the percentage the negligence contributes to the incident. http://www.sslegalfirm.com/blog/person al-injury/can-you-sue-over-a-dog-bitedog-bite-liability-in-florida

 An owner is not liable, except as to anyone under the age of 6 and except for his own misconduct, if at the time of the injury the owner had posted in a prominent place a conspicuous sign warning of a bad dog. This statutory remedy is in addition to any other by statute or common law.

 The dog-bite statute applies to the owner only and not to a custodian or keeper of a dog, Belcher Yacht, Inc v Stickney, 450 So2d 1111, 1112 (FL 1984). Common law remedies are available in situations not covered by the statute, Ibid. Negligence, the failure to exercise the ordinary care of a reasonably prudent and careful person, is another ground for dog-bite liability in Florida. For example, allowing a stray dog into a day care center playground is negligence

 Negligence per se, a doctrine similar to strict liability, can apply if the bite occurs because the dog owner violates a statute, ordinance, or regulation for public safety. Examples are violation of a leash law or a law prohibiting dogs at large. In Florida, violation of a nontraffic penal statute is such negligence as a matter of law. DeJesus v Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Co, 281 So2d 198, 201 (FL 1973).

 As every Miami dog-bite attorney knows, the traditional or common law doctrine of scienter imposes liability for harm inflicted by a domestic animal. As applied to dog bites, this doctrine enables a victim to recover compensation from an owner or keeper of a dog aware that it had bitten someone else previously. Scienter is a ground for liability in every state. In Florida, scienter can impose liability on someone other than an owner of a biting dog.

 A landlord has a duty to take action to protect tenants from known vicious dogs, Ramirez v ML Management Co, Inc, 920 So2d 36, 39 (FL 4th DCA 2005).

 In that case, a landlord aware that a tenants pit bulls had menaced other tenants but took no action was liable for damages when the dogs attacked another tenants child off the premises but in an adjacent park the landlord had advertised as an amenity; however, a landlord has no duty to act to protect third parties injured by a tenants dog away from the premises, Tran v. Bancroft, 648 So2d 314, 315 (FL 4th DCA 1995). A Miami dog-bite attorney can explain the nuances of this distinction in full detail.

 In Florida, a dog-bite victim under the age of six is legally incapable of contributory negligence, Swindell v Hellkamp, 242 So2d 708, 710 (FL 1970). The jury or trier of fact decides whether older children understand and avoid danger and may be comparatively negligent. If a childs parent fails to exercise supervision to prevent a dog bite, the jury may apportion fault to the negligent parent, YH Investments, Inc, v. Godales, 690 So2d 1273 (FL 1997), and reduce the liability of the dog owner or custodian accordingly.

 Under the dog-bite statute, there is no liability if the victim is six years of age or older and the incident happens on the dog owners premises with a conspicuous warning sign in a prominent place easily readable for actual notice. If the victim is too young to read the sign, this provision does not apply. http://www.sslegalfirm.com/accidentlawyer-miami/personal-injury.php/

 An actual bite is not always necessary for liability. Under Section 767.01 of Title 45, a dog owner is liable for any damage or injury to a person. A victim who sustains an injury from a fall in flight from an attacking dog or who suffers a stroke or a heart attack from the physiological stress of the encounter may sue the dog owner for damages. The injured victim should consult a Miami dog-bite attorney in all such cases.