You may not know that California has a strict liability dog bite statute which states that the owner of a dog is liable for damages inflicted by his/her dog if it bites a person who is either in a public place or lawfully in a private place, including on or near the property of the owner of the dog, regardless of the former viciousness of the dog or the owner's knowledge of such viciousness (California Civil Code Section 3342).
Therefore, the dog owner is liable regardless of whether or not the dog had ever been vicious before, and regardless of whether or not the owner had reason to believe the dog would behave in a vicious manner. The dog does not get "one bite free."
In dog bite cases, it is essential that prompt measures be taken to preserve evidence (including taking photographs), investigate the incident in question, and enable physicians and other expert witnesses to thoroughly evaluate all of the injuries.
In the majority of dog bite cases, the law only allows for the injured party to collect damages designed to make one "whole"; however, in circumstances where it can be proven that a particular dog had demonstrated vicious behavior in the past, there is the possibility that the party can also recover what are known as "punitive" damages. These are designed not for the purpose of making the injured party "whole," but rather to punish the wrongful conduct of a dog owner who knowingly keeps a vicious animal which could cause harm to innocent persons. In the event that punitive damages are warranted, the amount of money that the injured party can recover would be substantially more than in the typical dog bite case.
Click here to review dog bite safety tips that we previously blogged about.
Jason Kerckhoff is a San Diego dog bite lawyer who has handled numerous dog attack cases.
