Statute of Limitations in Dog Bite Cases

Dog bite victims have a limited amount of time to file a lawsuit in court, and that amount of time varies by state. California’s statute of limitations for dog bite cases is generally two years from the date of the attack (Cal. Civ. Proc. Code 335.1). This statute of limitations is usually shorter for cases in which a government agency or employee might be held liable for the victim’s injuries. An experienced dog bite attorney will be able to counsel you regarding the specific dog bite laws and statutes of limitations in California, and advise you on the amount of time you have in which to file a lawsuit.

Most state laws provide for anywhere from two to six years in their statutes of limitations in dog bite cases in which an individual or company (rather than a government agency) can be held liable. Some states: Kentucky, Louisiana, and Tennessee; only allow one year from the date of the dog bite injury for the victim to file a lawsuit with the courts.

There are a few exceptions to the statutes of limitations imposed by each state, and one of the primary ones relates to the claims of a minor. In many states, the statute of limitations does not begin to run until the victim reaches his or her 18th birthday. In these cases, a child could be the victim of a dog bite attack at the age of five, but wait until after his or her 18th birthday to file a claim with the courts.

Other exceptions exist in the statutes of limitations involving dog bite cases in California. When a government agency or employee could be held liable for the dog bite, it is important to file your claim immediately. Victims of dog bite injuries, for which a government entity or employee is liable, may have as little as 60 days from the date of the injury to present a claim to that government entity. It is very important that you have an experienced California dog bite attorney help you with this kind of claim because of the special procedural requirements and substantial content of these claims.

If you have been the victim of a dog bite attack and are unsure of the amount of time you have in which to file a claim, contact an experienced dog bite attorney to help you with your case. Your lawyer will be informed about the applicable statutes of limitations within the state of California regarding dog attack claims, and can guide you through the process of filing your lawsuit.

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Dog Bite Prevention

There are certain codes of behavior and etiquettes that we as people should observe and teach to our children with regards to interacting with dogs. These behaviors serve as dog bite prevention, such that tragedies can be avoided.

• Don’t run past dogs. Especially important for children. Dogs have an inherent drive called prey drive. This drive inspires them to give chase to moving objects, tennis balls, neighborhood cats, or shrieking children. This doesn’t mean that you cant go jogging, it just means that you must exercise caution when getting your daily exercise. I once had a running coach who instructed me to stop running when I saw a dog and walk past until safely out of the way. I don’t necessarily recommend you go to this extreme but it definitely wouldn’t hurt with dog bite prevention.

• Allow dogs to introduce themselves to you. A mistake many people make is to rush up to a dog to tell him hello. Many dogs see this as an invasion of personal space and a threat and may react in kind. By allowing a dog to make introductions on his terms, the level of stress he feels is much lower. By lowering the amount of stress with the introduction you greatly reduce the chance of a dog bite.

• When you allow the dog to meet you and do his obligatory sniffing, allow him to sniff your closed fist instead of your open hand. If he does decide to bite, much less damage will be done. Better to get bitten on a closed fist than to lose a finger by taking a direct bite to your digits.

• When a new dog is approaching to meet you, position your body at a sideways slant. This is a much less threatening posture than a straight-on affront. It is a more submissive posture and makes a new dog feel more at ease.

• Don’t have staring contests with strange dogs. Some dogs will see this as an invitation for conflict.

Children are the victims of the majority of dog bites. All children should learn the above codes, plus there are additional behaviors that children should learn when dealing with dogs and dog bite prevention.

• Children should always ask permission to meet a new dog. By asking the owner of the dog permission, the owner is now more in a mindset of supervisor. He will now be in better control of the dog. Never should a child run up to a new dog to make an introduction whether or not the owner is around. In fact, a child should never attempt to meet a strange dog who is without an owner.

• Children should learn to be calm around dogs. Dogs will often bite as a result of stress. A running, screaming child can cause many dogs a lot of stress. This could provoke a dog bite and should be avoided.

• Although children are shorter, they should work to avoid being face to face with a dog. Allow the dog to instead sniff the child’s closed fist. This makes sense on a few different levels. If a dog is going to bite, the last body part you want near him is the head or face. Also, the act of a child putting his face near the face of a dog can be seen as a threat by the dog. This could provoke a dog bite.

• If possible, when making introductions to new dogs, children should be still, higher in elevation than the dog (sitting in a chair or on the lap of an adult), and calm. Allow the dog to come make the introduction on terms that are comfortable for him.

• Children would be do well to feed new dogs a treat. By making an immediate positive association between child and dog you are much more likely to avoid a dog bite.

Above all, use common sense when dealing with man’s best friend. Common sense is the best form of dog bite prevention.

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Prevent Dog Biting With These Simple Steps

Does your pet dog have a tendency to bite? It’s an issue that if left alone, can become a critical one. Here are a few facts that may help you understand why your dog is biting, and a few tips on how you can help your dog overcome their habit.

First of all, it is important to understand why your dog bites. The main reason is the canine instinct that all dogs have. Long ago, before dogs became domestic animals, they were wild and ran around in packs. The reason they bite is because of their instinct to dominate. Biting is a way dogs are able to show their authority and dominance over other dogs in the pack. Because of this instinct, your dog is biting in order to establish dominance and control.

Here are a few tips on stopping biting if your dog is still a puppy. When puppies bite, there may be several reasons for this. The first is that your puppy may simply be teething, and wants something to chew on. Also puppies bite when they are unsure of their rank in the “family” pack, and start biting to try to show dominance. If this is the case, you will want to show your new puppy that you are the leader and the one in control. Obedience training is a must, and it will also set a solid foundation for other doggie behavior issues and will also start your relationship with your puppy off on the right foot.

If your dog is no longer a puppy, but is considered a “teenager” (this is usually dogs from 1 to 2 years old) the training becomes a little more difficult, but it is still possible to rid your dog of this habit. Once your puppy becomes an older puppy, their cute chewing and gnawing becomes “play biting,” which is rougher than before. Though the nips may not break the skin or even hurt, it must be stopped because your dog is forming bad and possibly dangerous habits. By changing various aspects of the pup’s life (such as where they sleep, what toys they may play with, what time they are fed), you are able to remind your dog that you are the one in charge, and this also shows them that you will not allow them to become the dominant figure in the household. Again, formal obedience training with a professional dog trainer will do wonders; it is definitely worth the time and cost you put into it.

Once a dog reaches adulthood, the biting routine is very difficult to crack. By that time, a dog has already established its domain as the leader of the pack, and assumes authority for everything in and on your property. If the dog feels a family member is out of line, they will bite. This can be corrected, but the only reliable way is to hire a professional dog trainer that can work with you and your dog to break this biting habit.

Breaking a dog of biting is difficult and time consuming, but it is necessary; otherwise, your dog will grow up biting more and more until it becomes a serious problem. It is best if you nip it in the bud and start teaching your dog not to bite from the soonest time possible. Good luck beating the biting!

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Dog Bite Law: Los Angeles Police Dogs and Liability

Dog bite injuries inflicted by Los Angeles Police Department-owned canines can be especially difficult to try in court, depending on the specific circumstance surrounding the incident.

California provides special protection to police departments against dog bite lawsuits, as long as the injury occurred during an arrest and it did not stem from the police officer’s use of unnecessary force. However, the definition of “excessive force” can be subjective, depending on the victim’s criminal record and the events surrounding the actual arrest.

When the dog bite injury occurred outside of the circumstances of a properly enforced arrest, or outside of official police department duties, California laws allow for the victim of the dog bite to bring a lawsuit against the Los Angeles Police Department. Since the police department falls under the definition of a state or government entity, normal statutes of limitations do not apply, and the victim generally has as little as 60 days in which to file the claim.

In addition, police dogs are usually given to one or two police officers for off duty care. These officers often take the dogs to their homes at night, as well. This means there are times when police dogs are not being used to make legal arrests, and could bite a victim outside of the special protection laws offered by California’s liability statutes.

When an off duty dog connected with the Los Angeles Police Department is involved in a dog bite lawsuit, both the individual police officer and the Los Angeles Police Department can be held liable. Even while on duty, police dogs are placed in various situations in which they could potentially bite someone. For example, police dogs are often taken to schools for demonstrations, or to parades and community service events, where there are many children present. Since statistics state children as being the most vulnerable and susceptible to receiving a dog bite injury, the likelihood of an injury occurring in these circumstances is possible.

If you or a loved one have been the victim of a dog bite, and the dog was identified as a police dog connected with the Los Angeles Police Department, the success of your claim in court is highly dependent on the circumstance surrounding the incident. A dog bite lawyer who has experience handling dog bite litigation will be able to counsel you on the statutes of liability and limitations pertaining to your specific case, and offer suggestions on the feasibility of filing a claim with the court. Bringing a dog bite case against a government or state agency can be a difficult process, and you will need highly detailed evidence for your claim to be a success.

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How do you make your Dog Stop Biting?

Dog biting is every dog owner’s nightmare. It can not only endanger family members, it can endanger friends, neighbors and strangers. It’s a problem that must be addressed early and earnestly. So the question is arising, i.e. How to stop a DOG from biting.

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Why Your Dog Bites and What to Do

More than 4.5 million dog bite incidents are reported in the United States per year. Approximately half are incidents involving the family dog. There is no guarantee your dog will never bite someone. A dog can behave unpredictably, become aggressive and bite causing injury, but why? The reasons vary and there is no one answer.

The possibilities include heredity and personality (or DNA), prior difficult experiences, lack of proper socialization, fear, lack of proper training with regard to discipline, territory and boundaries, and lack of proper guidance from the pack leader or leaders, meaning guardian or guardians.

The risk factors that precipitate a dog bite incident can be significantly reduced.

Spayed or neutered dogs are less likely to bite. Dogs not socialized with children can possibly react to situations by biting. The most common reason children are bitten is a dog that is fearful or wishes to avoid what it is not sure of, resulting in aggressive behavior in an attempt to make the problem or situation go away.

You do not want your dog to be afraid or become aggressive. Therefore, socialization is very important from the earliest stages of life.

There is a difference between biting in play and aggression.

Biting is often associated with rough play that is to be enjoyed with your dog, but there is a distinct difference between biting in play and biting that turns into an act of domination and disrespect for the guardian.

Dogs are perfectly capable of being trained to grab enthusiastically and gently without crossing the line to aggressive biting behavior, a lesson that is naturally taught by their mother, littermates and other pack members. Young dogs bite each other everywhere and anywhere when they play. This is when they learn limits to their biting and learn control and boundaries to their play. If they are too rough with their playmates, they will find out by how the other dogs and puppies react to them. This is something that canines can accomplish and teach each other through trial and error, learning from their own experiences in the early stages far more effectively and efficiently than we can teach them. Because we take them away from this environment before this learning process is completed, it is necessary for the guardians to take over and complete the training.

If the dog happens to bite too hard during a play activity you can mimic its yelp or give a stern OUCH, and a NO BITING command, with a pause from the activity to let the dog know that it hurt. If you allow the dog to bite a bit too aggressively some of the time you will be sending an inconsistent message and biting will never be completely eliminated.

Under no circumstances do you hit.

If your dog grabs or jerks a toy from your hand during this play activity, it is time to suspend play, remove the toy from the dog’s possession and issue a verbal correction of NO BITING in a “you mean business” firm tone of voice. The dog must understand that the biting is too aggressive and you don’t like it. You do not want to give the dog the impression that you suddenly do not like it by becoming abusive. Make up afterwards after a short time period, on your terms and not the dog’s.

Physical punishment is the quickest way to erode the dog’s trust.

It is up to the dog’s guardians to establish appropriate boundaries and behaviors in all aspects of living as a family pack unit through an education process without physical abuse by the guardian. A dog can love you almost unconditionally because of its loyal characteristics, but that does not mean it trusts and respects you.

Training the family dog should be a family matter.

Every household member should learn the proper training techniques and participate in the dog’s education. It is best to not send your dog away to be trained; family members should be the ones, with proper guidance, to teach your dog how to behave in your home. Note that training courses are a great investment even for experienced dog caregivers.

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Wat are some good websites on dog biting statistics?

We will be a getting a dog in the near future for our family and wanted to know if there are any webstites on biting statistics. Thank you for your answers.

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How can I stop my dog biting my ankles?

My dog’s not that vicious, he’s a corgi, but he has a habit of walking behind me, and biting my ankles. This really makes me angry, and I was wondering how I could stop this behaviour.

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Investigating Dog Bite Cases

In most instances of dog bites in California, the dog’s owner is held liable. However, in an attempt to avoid liability, and the financial penalties that go along with it, many owners will attempt to deny liability through various methods. Often, these methods will include accusing the victim of provoking the attack, or proving that the dog has never bitten anyone else if the incident happened in a state that uses the “one bite” criteria as law. In states that use the “one bite” law, the victim must prove that the dog has previously bitten someone else. Fortunately, this is not a legal loophole through which Californians have to jump.

If an investigation is necessary, a dog bite attorney can help you locate the best people for evidence to support your case. Someone who is experienced in litigating dog bite cases in California will know the proper avenues to go through for questioning potential witnesses. Any evidence that supports your claim will be beneficial, and anyone who has had experience with the dog could help provide that evidence.

Your dog bite attorney will most likely want to speak with people who have interacted with the dog from its birth. This will include (but will not be limited to) the breeder of the dog, the dog’s veterinarian, the kennel or boarding facility where the dog might have been kept, neighbors, delivery truck drivers who have delivered packages to the dog owner’s address, and utility workers who might have come into contact with the dog at some point.

Even within the state of California, any evidence gained by your attorney to prove that the dog has attacked another person will help your case in court. Often, victims of dog attacks do not report the incident to animal control or the police department, and careful investigation might be necessary to uncover information about the true disposition of the dog. The “one bite” rule that many states use in litigation is not always fair; the dog could have well bitten someone else previously, without a paper trail as proof of the incident.

You will want to have documented proof as the result of an investigation. Such documents could include complaints to homeowners associations, police reports, animal control reports, or animal behaviorists’ records. Additionally, you will want to have copies of any previous files or paperwork relating to previous litigation, or menacing dog petitions. A qualified California dog bite attorney will be able to locate and acquire this information for you to help you fully prepare for your lawsuit.

With California dog bite laws constantly changing, and dog bite litigation in any state often resulting in complicated cases that require in-depth investigation, a dog bite attorney will be your best resource in compiling the information you’ll need in court. The more prepared you are in proving that the dog bite incident was not an isolated one, the better your chances are in winning your case. A dog bite attorney who is highly skilled in trying dog bite cases in California will know the steps to take to solidify your case before you bring it to court.

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National Statistics Regarding Dog Bites

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta, every year nearly 4.7 million people become the victims of dog bites within the United States. Of these bites, almost 800,000 require medical attention, with a small percentage of dog bite injuries resulting in fatalities.

If you live in the United States, it is estimated that you have a 1 in 50 chance of becoming the victim of a dog attack. This chance increases if you are a postal worker, delivery person, or utility worker. This chance also increases if you are a minor, as children tend to attract dog attacks due both to their careless play around animals and their vulnerability in size. In fact, dog bites account for one of the top reasons children are sent to the emergency room each year; and the number of incidents involving children only continues to grow.

Fifteen years old is the median age of dog bite victims within the United States, with boys aged five to nine years old being the most common victims of dog bite injuries. In most cases of severe injury, the victim was 10 years old or younger, with injury focused on the face and neck.

Last year, 32 people died due to dog attacks in the United States. These statistics become more interesting when broken down, as fewer deaths occur in states that have more strict liability laws. In 2007, California in particular only had one fatality on record that was the result of a dog attack. California is one of the strict liability states, meaning that a claimant can hold a dog’s owner liable simply by proving that the owner’s dog bit them. There are very few exceptions, and in most cases, these exceptions exist without the loopholes available in other states.

Examples of such loopholes are the “one bite” laws, in which the courts require evidence that the dog has previously bitten someone before the owner is held liable in a dog bite case. According to statistics, states with “one bite” laws and mixed statute laws generally have more instances of dog bites than states with strict liability statutes, such as California.

If someone in your family has been the victim of a dog bite, it is important to understand the specific laws in your particular state regarding the statutes of limitations and liability for dog bite injuries. A qualified dog bite attorney will be able to counsel you regarding your case, and help you gather evidence that will help the courts in determining liability. This is especially important if you live in a “one bite” state, in which you must gather evidence to prove that the dog has previously bitten someone.

Dog bite injuries are far too common in the United States, and often children are the innocent victims. If you have been the victim of a dog bite, an experienced dog bite attorney can explain your rights, options, and challenges to making a claim. The more highly skilled dog bite attorneys will provide a free consultation, process your dog bite claim efficiently, and effectively resolve your claim through negotiations or litigation, recovering for you the compensation to which you are entitled.

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