Dog Bite Law |
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| Dog Parks and Liability for Dog Bites | ||
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Dog parks are merely places where dogs can be off-leash, but liability for dog bites that occur there can be a little different than for those that happen elsewhere. |
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Overview Leash-optional dog parks are a great place
to take your dog. There is no need for the dog owner to worry about joggers,
kids on bikes, inattentive drivers, elderly people and the disabled. Like
any recreational area, however, dog parks are not free of risks. People
and dogs get injured in dog parks throughout the United States. And dog
parks cause other kinds of problems too. Here is an overview of the problems
that stem from dog parks:
If your dog is injured or killed in a dog park, the rest of this section will guide you as to your legal rights. For more specific advice, and pre-written legal letters and forms to help you get compensation, see What To Do If Your Dog Is Injured Or Killed. To find dog parks, see the Links page of this web site.
Negligence liabilityIn a leash-optional park, it will be more difficult for a victim to establish that the dog owner was negligent by not having the dog on a leash. Basically, "negligence" is the doing of something that was unreasonable, or the unreasonable failure to do something that should have been done. In a leash-optional dog park, the dog owner still must do what is reasonable, such as keep his or her dog on a short leash if the dog is unruly, easily scared, not socialized, unneutered, has provoked fights with other dogs, or has any known dangerous propensity, such as the habit of jumping on people.If the owner of such a dog fails to keep it on a leash in a leash-optional park, or allows it to cause injury to person or dog in a manner that could have been prevented, the victim should still prevail on a claim that the conduct of the dog owner was unreasonable, and therefore negligent. To read more about negligence, see the discussion of it in Legal Rights of a Dog Bite Victim.
Suits against local governmentsThe victim of a personal injury or injury to the victim's dog probably will not prevail on a claim against the local government entity that established the dog park. Generally, there are immunities that protect government entities from many claims; if the entity believed that it was doing something beneficial for the community, it is hard to get around the immunity.However, failure to enforce its own rules and regulations may result in governmental liability. Dog parks frequently are governed by special rules that are either posted or part of the local municipal code. If an irresponsible dog owner has a habit of breaking those rules, and the local animal control officers do nothing despite being informed, a person who sustains personal injuries or injuries to his or her dog may prevail against the municipality.
Assumption of the riskAdults and mature children who voluntarily encounter a known risk are usually deemed to have consented to the injuries they receive as a result of that particular risk.If you go to a no-leash dog park and you are injured by a dog, under circumstances other than a bite where the dog would not have injured you if it was leashed, then there is a very good argument that you assumed the risk. After all, you knew that leashes were optional at the park, but you went there anyway to take advantage of the same leash-optional law that resulted in your own injuries. However, the assumption of risk doctrine will not be used against a responsible dog owner who goes to a dog park that is frequented by an irresponsible dog owner who fails to follow the rules of the dog park. The law states that every person can assume that others will abide by the law. Therefore, one does not assume the risk that another user of a dog park will violate the rules of the park. For that reason, courts will not permit this doctrine to be used as a shield for unreasonable or unlawful conduct. Similarly, the assumption of the risk doctrine will not be used to permit a dog owner to evade responsibility when he brings a dangerous dog into a dog park. (See the next section.)
Bites and injuries resulting from a dangerous propensity of the attacking dogIn every state, the owner or possessor of a dog having a dangerous propensity (i.e., the propensity to jump on people or bite people) is strictly liable for injuries that result from the dog's dangerous propensity. So, if a dog owner knows that his dog likes to jump on people and knock them down, and if that happens in a leash-optional area, the dog owner will be liable under state law.Also, most states have laws imposing strict liability on dog owners whose dogs actually bite someone, irrespective of whether the dog previously bit anyone. These laws still apply, even though the bite occurs in a dog recreation area where leashes are optional. If a dog owner knows that his dog has the dangerous tendency to attack and fight with other dogs, he should not bring that dog into a dog park. Doing so would be not only negligent but would constitute a reckless disregard for the safety of other dogs, the rights of other dog owners, and the safety of other dog owners. A dog owner should be held fully responsible for all resulting injuries to other people and their dogs. The doctrine of assumption of the risk should not apply because the victim cannot be regarded as accepting the risk of such negligent, reckless and possibly illegal conduct. To find out how to investigate whether a dog has any kind of a dangerous propensity, see Investigating the Attacking Dog.
Guidelines for dog parks
As a starting point, here are some guidelines that will promote safety and hopefully limit liability:
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