Overview
 One-Bite State
Virginia
adheres to the ancient and inhumane "one-bite" rule. In
this state, as in old England and a minority of 19 other American
states, every dog gets "one free bite" -- one free mauling
or killing of a human being. For details, see The
One Bite Rule. However, if the owner or another person caused the
accident by being negligent or breaking a law, such as a leash law,
then that person will be held legally liable. See below.
Contributory negligence
Making matters worse for all kinds of accident victims,
Virginia also follows another ancient and inhumane doctrine, called
the "contributory negligence" rule. It says that a person
who is even one percent responsible for an accident has no legal right
whatsoever to recover compensation for medical bills or anything else. There are only 4 states in the USA that follow this terrible, 18th century rule.
Negligence
Virginia permits
suits based upon the negligence of a dog owner or keeper. The Supreme
Court has held that the owner of a domestic animal must exercise ordinary
care to keep the animal off public highways. Wilkins v. Sibley,
205 Va. 171, 173, 135 S.E.2d 765, 766 (1964); Rice v. Turner,
191 Va. 601, 605-606, 62 S.E.2d 24, 26 (1950); see also Page v. Arnold,
227 Va. 74, 80, 314 S.E.2d 57, 61 (1984) (owner of domestic animal "must
exercise reasonable care"). However, in the Page case, the owner
of a horse that jumped a fence and injured a person was held to be free
of negligence as a matter of law, because there was no proof that the
pony in question had either the propensity or ability to jump a particular
fence. Id. at 80, 314 S.E.2d at 61. The plaintiff in that case argued
that the pony got out of the field because the fence was inadequate
to restrain the animal. Id. at 79, 314 S.E.2d at 60. However, the court
concluded that "there was no reason for the defendants to have
anticipated that confining this pony in this fenced enclosure was liable
to result in injury to others." Id. at 80, 314 S.E.2d at 61; see
also Wilkins, 205 Va. at 175, 135 S.E.2d at 767; Rice, 191 Va. at 609,
62 S.E.2d at 27.
Negligence per se
Virginia also adheres
to the doctrine of negligence per se in cases where a dog inflicts injury
upon a person, and the dog owner is in violation of a leash law or other
ordinance designed to protect the public from personal injuries inflicted
by dogs. Under Virginia law violation of a statute or ordinance constitutes negligence per se. See Gough v. Shaner, Adm'r,
197 Va. 572,
576 (1955); Standard Oil Co. v. Roberts, 130 Va. 532 (1921). The violation of an ordinance subjecting an owner to a fine if his dog "shall go at large upon any public street... of the city, unless such dog is accompanied by an attendant or held in leash by a responsible person" was held to establish the basis for a negligence per se claim in Butler v. Frieden, 208 Va. 352 (Va. 1967). However, where a city ordinance required that
a dog "be kept secured by a leash or lead, and under the control
of the owner . . . or within the real property limits of its owners," the defendant dog owners had an electronic containment system which was in working order, and their dog escaped through that electronic fence, it was held that this did not constitute negligence per se. Stout v. Bartholomew, 261 Va. 547, 544 S.E.2d 653 (Va. 2001).
Emotional distress damages
It is proper for a physically injured plaintiff to recover damages for emotional distress. Mental anguish may be inferred from bodily injury and that it is not necessary to prove it with specificity. Norfolk & W. Ry. Co. v. Marpole, 97 Va. 594, 599-600 (1899). Mental anguish, when fairly inferred from injuries sustained, is an element of damages. Bruce v. Madden, 208 Va. 636, 639-40 (1968). However, no compensation can be awarded if the distress arises from the injury to or death of a dog. Kondaurov v. Kerdasha, 271 Va. 646 (Va. 2006).
Virginia
must change its dog bite laws
When it comes to
the civil dog bite laws, there is a certain, obvious illogic in Virginia.
This state is adhering to ancient English courts that ruled that "every
dog gets one free bite." This "one-bite
rule" was announced centuries ago, in pastoral Britain,
when dogs, hogs, mules and sheep wandered aimlessly through towns, as
a normal part of life. In those long-gone days, the judges of Charles
Dickens' time announced that the owner of a domestic animal would not
be held liable unless and until it bit someone first. There was no need
for people to be vigilent about their animals because the law did not
require people to take any level of responsibility until a tragedy first
occured.
Those days, however,
are long gone. In modern America, our ideas about personal responsibility
are far different. We believe that every one of us must be responsible
for the harm that we might cause, and that might be caused by our things,
our employees and our children, under our "watch."
Virginia dog bite
laws tell the people that it is okay for their dog to bite someone,
once. That they are not responsible for it. That there is no consequence
when it happens. That they can look the other way. Shrug it off. Forget
about it.
That is because
Virginia is following an ancient English rule of law that is out of
touch with American ideals and has been rejected by 30 American states.
In 30 states and the District of Columbia, there is a law that either
wholly or partially supplants the "one bite rule," imposing
strict liability on dog owners for dog bites, including the first bite.
There is no "free bite" in those 30 states and the DC. (See Legal Rights
of a Dog Bite Victim, which contains links to the dog bite statutes
throughout the USA.)
Shouldn't every
bite have consequences? Every victim is required to suffer, every medical
bill must be paid, every ambulance company sends out its invoice, every
pharmacy has a cash register. If dog owners know that there will be
consequences for every bite, then they will be less inclined to permit
their dogs to roam, and there will be fewer injuries.
The one bite rule
needs to be repealed in Virginia. It needs to be replaced with a law
that makes every dog owner, keeper or harborer legally liable for any
and all injuries caused by his or her dog, other than injuries that
result from provocation or are inflicted upon a trespasser.
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