Millions of people in the State of Texas own a dog or multiple dogs as pets. While dogs can make wonderful companions, they are also animals capable of inflicting serious harm. Laws surrounding dog bite incidents can be complicated, and you should contact an attorney to help you get fair compensation from the dog’s owner.
Generally, a dog’s owner may be held liable for bites or attacks. How we go about doing this may vary based on the situation. The state’s “one-bite” law makes owners of “dangerous dogs” strictly liable for bites or attacks. If the dog has not been deemed dangerous but still bites someone, they may sue the owner for negligence. Negligence might involve failing to keep the dog enclosed or removing its leash in public. The dog’s owner may also be held criminally liable for the attack, depending on the circumstances. Even a minor dog bite injury may be a complex legal case, and you should call an attorney for help.
Call our Dallas dog bite injury attorneys at The Queenan Law Firm at (817) 476-1797 for a free case review.
Who is Liable for Dog Bite Injuries in Texas?
If a dog bites or attacks someone, the dog’s owner may be held liable for injuries and damages. Laws regarding dog bites can be complex, and there might be more than one way for victims to get compensation and hold negligent dog owners liable.
One-Bite Rule
Texas adopted its “one-bite” rule in the 1974 Texas Supreme Court case of Marshall v. Ranne. Essentially, this law makes dog owners strictly liable for injuries from bites or attacks if the owner knew their pet was a “dangerous dog.” As explained in more detail below, a dangerous dog is one with a known history of aggression.
This rule is codified under Tex. Health & Safety Code § 822.044(a). In short, a person may be held responsible if they have a dangerous dog that attacks or bites someone unprovoked in a location outside the dog’s enclosure and causes bodily injuries.
Owner Negligence
The one-bite rule does not apply to every single dog bite case, as many owners do not know they have a dangerous dog. In such cases, you cannot prove strict liability and must instead prove that the attack happened because of the dog owner’s negligence.
First, our Texas dog bite injury attorneys must prove that the defendant owned or possessed the dog. There may be legal paperwork that we can use to establish ownership or witness testimony from people who know the owner.
Next, we have to prove that the defendant had a duty of care to prevent the animal from attacking, and the defendant breached this duty. Often, this duty arises when the owner takes the dog to a public place, like a walking path or a public park. The breach might involve taking the dog off their leash, possibly in violation of local leash laws.
We must then show how the defendant’s breach was the direct and proximate cause of the dog bite attack, and that you suffered real injuries. Witness to the accident, security camera footage, and your testimony may be incredibly important here.
There is no need to prove that the dog’s owner knew of prior attacks or acts of aggression from the dog. Instead, the claim is rooted in the defendant’s negligent handling of their dog.
Common Examples of Dog Owner Negligence in Texas
People often treat their dogs like their children, but dogs are not people and must be restrained for the safety of everyone. Below are a few common ways that dog owners demonstrate negligence and may be held liable for dog bite injuries.
Failing to Maintain an Enclosure
A common example of dog owner negligence is failing to keep a dog inside its enclosure.
The enclosure may be a fenced-in yard or a kennel structure. Simply keeping a dog inside the house may be enough to prevent an incident. If the enclosure is weak and the dog can easily escape, the owner may be held liable if the dog bites someone. Similarly, if there is no enclosure and the owner knowingly allows the dog to wander outside of its enclosure, they may be liable for a bite or attack.
Violating Leash Laws
A dog owner might also be negligent if they allow their dog to run free without a leash. This may be an act of per se negligence if the owner violates local leash laws. For example, walking a dog down a public street without a leash or any restraint may be extremely negligent and illegal.
Even if the owner says their dog is trained to walk without a leash, they may still be liable if their unleashed dog bites someone.
Failure to Monitor
Other dog owners may be held negligently liable for failing to monitor their dog’s behavior when they are off the leash. This rule applies in most public spaces, including places where it is okay to have dogs off the leash, like a pubic dog park.
For example, a dog might attack or bite a person or another dog while their owner is nowhere to be found or otherwise distracted. Dogs can be dangerous, and owners must keep track of them at all times.
Classifications of a “Dangerous Dog”
Dog owners may be strictly liable for injuries caused by their dogs if they know the dog is dangerous, according to the Texas one-bite rule. This begs the question: how do we define a dangerous dog?
A dangerous dog is defined under Tex. Health & Safety Code § 822.041(2) as a dog that makes an unprovoked attack on someone and causes them bodily harm in a place other than the dog’s reasonably safe enclosure.
Alternatively, a dangerous dog is one that commits an unprovoked attack outside its enclosure, and the enclosure is such that the dog could not leave on its own, and the attack causes bodily harm.
Once an attack like those described here occurs, the dog may be deemed a “dangerous dog,” and their owner may be presumed to know the dog is dangerous. At that point, if the dog bites someone again, the owner may be held strictly liable.
How to Prove a Dog is a “Dangerous Dog”
It is not unusual for the owner of a dog to deny that the dog is dangerous. They might claim this is the first time the dog has ever bitten anyone, and they have never noticed signs of aggression before. The owner might not be telling the truth, and we may need to prove that the dog is a “dangerous dog.”
If the dog is indeed dangerous, there might be records regarding previous bites or attacks. Our Texas dog bite injury attorneys can check with the police about previous complaints about the dog and its owner. We can also ask the owner’s neighbors if they knew the dog to be dangerous.
It is also possible that the dog’s owner admits they knew the dog was dangerous. Some owners are willing to cooperate when the authorities intervene, and they might disclose that the dog has a history of attacks or aggression.
Possible Defenses in Dog Bite Injury Cases in Texas
When bringing a dog-bite case to court, we must be prepared to counter defense arguments made by the defendant. Below are common strategies employed by defendants to evade liability.
Provocation
Even if a dog is a “dangerous dog” within the meaning of the law, their owner might not be liable for injuries caused by a bite or attack if the victim provoked the dog first. For the owner to be held liable, the attack must be unprovoked.
The owner might argue that you were antagonizing the dog when it attacked or that you were goading it into attacking. In reality, you might have been harmlessly playing with the dog when it suddenly bit or attacked you unprovoked.
Trespassing
Dog owners are often not liable for bites or attacks if the incident occurred while the victim was trespassing on the owner’s property. Owners do not have to keep their dog leashed if they are on their fenced-in property, like a front or back yard. The defendant might argue that the plaintiff entered the yard without permission to play with the dog, which then attacked.
If you were invited onto the property or otherwise authorized to be there, explain the situation to your lawyer. We may find evidence of your claims and disprove the defendant’s argument.
Not a “Dangerous Dog”
It is also possible that the defendant will argue their dog was not a “dangerous dog.” They might say the dog has no history of aggression and no history of biting or attacking anyone. Remember, if the dog is not considered a dangerous dog, the owner may not be held strictly liable, and it might be harder to prove your claims for damages.
Texas Dog Bite Injuries and “Lillian’s Law”
While dog bite cases often lead to civil claims for damages and financial compensation, dog owners may be criminally charged in certain circumstances. This is in part thanks to Lillian’s Law, passed in 2007 in response to a case where a victim was so badly attacked by multiple dogs in her own front yard that she passed away. Because of the laws on the books at that time, the dogs’ owner was never charged.
Lillian’s Law is codified under Tex. Health & Safety Code § 822.05(a). Suppose a dog owner, with criminal negligence, fails to secure the dog and it attacks someone unprovoked somewhere other than the owner’s property, and the dog causes injury or death. In that case, the owner may be charged with a third-degree felony.
Similarly, the owner may be charged if the dog is a dangerous dog, and the dog attacks someone unprovoked somewhere other than the dog’s secure enclosure and causes serious bodily injury.
When to File a Civil Claim for Dog Bite Injuries in Texas
If you were bitten or attacked by a dog, you may have a limited amount of time in which to file a civil claim for damages. Cases like this often fall under the statute of limitations for personal injuries. According to Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003(a), personal injury claims must be filed within 2 years of when the cause of action accrues.
Generally, a cause of action may accrue on the day the plaintiff is injured. However, there may be special circumstances under which the cause of action accrues later, and you might have more time to prepare. For example, under § 16.001, the cause of action for minors would not accrue until the minor turns 18. This effectively gives them until age 20 to file a claim.
Possible Damages You Can Claim in a Texas Dog Bite Injury Case
Dog bite cases may involve severe injuries and significant claims for damages. You may be entitled to a lot of financial compensation, and our legal team can help you.
Economic Damages
Any dog bite injury must be treated by a doctor immediately. Even minor bites can lead to serious infection if left untreated. In somewhat less common cases, dogs might be rabid and transmit the rabies virus, which can be fatal if not treated quickly. As such, you may rack up some significant medical bills, especially if the injuries are severe.
Non-Economic Damages
Serious dog bite incidents can be deeply traumatic. Cases where dogs outright maul the victims might leave them physically and psychologically scarred for many years. Some people never fully get over the trauma of the attack and can never be around dogs again. Your emotional and physical pain and suffer should be compensated just like any other damages.
Call Our Texas Dog Bite Injury Attorneys For Legal Help Now
Call our Houston, TX dog bite injury attorneys at The Queenan Law Firm at (817) 476-1797 for a free case review.