 Meet your host:
Attorney Kenneth Phillips is the author of this web site. He is widely recognized as the nation's leading authority on dog bite law. A frequent guest on CNN, NBC, CBS, ABC, MS-NBC, Fox News Channel, and Court TV, he has been called "the dog bite king" (Today Show and Lawyers Weekly), "a leading expert in dog bite law" (Good Housekeeping), and "the nation's best known practitioner of terrier torts" (Los Angeles Times).
He has a unique law practice: he represents only people who have been bitten by a dog.
His clients include children and adults throughout the United States. In addition, he assists attorneys, lawmakers and interested members of the public with regard to specific cases or issues involving dogs.
Mr. Phillips welcomes E-mail from all visitors to this website. He responds personally and answers general questions for free. Click here to write to him and receive his personal reply within hours (his E-mail address is kphillips@dogbitelaw.com). Reporters seeking interviews are welcome to click here.
You can watch videos of him and learn more about him at Meet Kenneth Phillips. For announcements about his own cases and the work flow at his law office, go to Kenneth Phillips on Twitter.
Overview of Dog Bite Law :
American dog bite law consists of civil and criminal law, found in state statutes, county and city ordinances, and court decisions. The laws vary widely among jurisdictions.
The key issue in a dog bite case is the extent to which the jurisdiction follows the old English "one bite rule." This ancient law shields a dog owner or harborer from liability, civilly and criminally, until he has a certain degree of knowledge that his dog is dangerous or vicious. When he has this knowledge, however, criminal laws may impose serious consequences on the dog owner or harborer, such as jail time or a fine, animal control laws may impose enthanasia or conditions for retaining the dog, and the civil justice system makes the owner or harborer strictly liable for all losses and damages resulting from the bite.
Most states (referred to as the "strict liability states") and the District of Columbia have statutes which either eliminate or substantially modify the one-bite rule, making dog owners (and sometimes harborers and keepers) civilly liable for all or most dog bites as long as the victim neither trespassed nor provoked the dog. In some states, liability is automatic, while in others there are conditions for or limitations upon it. Likewise, criminal laws and animal control laws may impose consequences upon the dog and its owner or harborer in a number of situations where the dog did not previously display viciousness toward people. See Legal Rights of Dog Bite Victims in the USA for a list of the strict liability states, plus links to their laws.
Sixteen states (the "one bite states") do not have dog bite statutes; these states follow the one bite rule, as do 4 other states (the "mixed dog bite statute states") have that dog bite statutes which essentially incorporate the one bite rule. See Legal Rights of Dog Bite Victims in the USA for a list of the one bite states, plus links to the laws of several of them.
Whether or not a state follows the one bite rule, liability can result from the negligent handling or confinement of a dog, or the violation of a leash law or other animal control law intended to protect against bodily injury to people. Injuries caused by negligence make a dog owner, harborer or keeper liable in almost every state. Furthermore, recent court decisions have imposed liability on animal control departments and related public entities which failed to take action against dangerous dogs.
To learn more about the civil laws, start at Legal Rights of Dog Bite Victims in the USA and from there click on the link to your state. For criminal laws, go to Dangerous and Vicious Dogs. For model laws that create a fair balance between the rights of the community and dog owners, see Model Dog Bite Laws.
To help decide what to do after a dog bite, read Does an Adult Need a Lawyer for a Dog Bite Claim? or Should Parents Get a Lawyer for Their Injured Child?
To learn the statistics and how to prevent dog bites, go to the list of topics in For Journalists, Lawmakers and Academics.
Search the Dog Bite Law Website :
Try the Index, the Glossary, or Google Search:
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The Dog Bite Law Bookstore :
What To Do If Your Dog Is Injured Or Killed
by Attorney Kenneth Phillips is a legal self-help book that tells a dog owner how to get reimbursed for vet bills,
and compensated for your anguish when your dog is wrongfully injured or killed.
Download immediately and use today.
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Pleadings, interrogatories, admissions, document production, a 50-topic deposition outline, and much more.
Save hours of work with Mr. Phillips'
Dog Bite Litigation Forms.
Only for plaintiffs' lawyers. Good in all states. Cheaper than the cost of typing them.
Download immediately and use today.
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Tips and tricks that cannot be found anywhere else.
Anatomy of a Dog Bite Case
is a video of Mr. Phillips' 2-1/2 hour seminar for plaintiffs' lawyers.
Learn strategies and tactics, the new causes of action, how to overcome all of the common defenses,
how to settle your case, and more. Inexpensive. Good in all states.
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Avoiding Liability When You Train,
Shelter or Adopt Out is an all-in-one self-help package for trainers, rescue groups, and shelters. Includes ready-to-use legal documents by Mr. Phillips, and his 1-1/2 hour seminar explaining everything in plain, simple language. The Q&A sessions on this DVD are fun and illuminating. Prevent trouble before it begins!
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 If you have a valid case but it's not "big enough" for a lawyer, the $1 Dog Bite Forms are for you. Attorney Kenneth Phillips wrote "fill-in-the-blanks" letters and forms to help the dog bite victim get the compensation he or she deserves. Powerful self-help for only $1 per form. Buy just what you need. New ones are being added every week, by request.
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News:
The most famous defendant in a dog bite case has been found guilty again. Marjorie Knoller was the woman whose Presa Canario dogs savagely killed Diane Whipple in 2001. A jury in Los Angeles found Knoller guilty of every charge she was indicted for, including second degree murder. After the trial judge threw out the murder conviction, the case went back and forth on appeal. Once more, however, the courts have ruled against her. By taking her dogs out of her apartment on that fatal day, she "deliberately engaged in behavior that was a danger to human life." On that ground, her conviction was upheld, and she faces 15 years to life in prison.
For news and opinion, read The Dog Bite Law Blog on Wordpress (news and opinion), the "editorial section" of Dog Bite Law. Hard-hitting and opinionated, it covers the daily news about dogs (from killings of humans, to cruelty, to new and sometimes terrible laws for dog owners), and presents Attorney Kenneth Phillips' brutally incisive opinions about laws, mistakes and moral issues involving dogs.
Recent USA fatalities:
The first 6 months of 2010 produced 16 fatal dog attacks. The most frequent victims were young children who were killed by their parents' own dogs. Of the 16 decedents, 11 were young children and two more were adult children of the dog owners. Family dogs killed 14 of the 16 victims.
Only three breeds of dog were responsible for all of these deaths: pit bulls (9 confirmed, 2 probable), Rottweilers (4), and a Siberian Husky. There was a reference to "sled dogs" in one case; more information is needed in that regard. The numbers exceed 16 because another case involved death by a combination of pit bulls and Rottweilers.
As opposed to prior years, the states with statutory strict liability laws accounted for the vast majority of deaths, namely 12. "One-bite" states saw three fatalities, and a "mixed law" state had one.
August 2010. On August 2, 2010, 2-year-old Aaron Carlson of San Diego, California, was mauled to death by his parents' German shepherd mix, in their home. California is a strict liability state.
On August 19, 2010, 46-year-old Tracy Payne of Macon County, Georgia, died from multiple blunt-force trauma and dog mauling at her home. Georgia is a mixed law state that requires dog bite victims to prove more than one case or cause of action against a dog owner.
On August 22, 2010, two pit bulls belonging to someone who lived on his property killed 69-year-old Jim Macedo of Calaveras County, California, in a workshop at his home. California is a strict liability state.
Two children were killed by dogs on August 25, 2010. Jason T. Walter, 7, of Marshall County, Illinois, was mauled to death by three pit bulls and a mixed breed dog. Illinois is a strict liability state.
The same day, in Iron Ridge, Wisconsin, 4-year-old Taylor Bells was fatally assaulted by a boxer that was chained to a tree, at a home that the child was visiting. Wisconsin is a strict liability state.
The USA has sustained 24 fatal dog attacks in 2010. For details (including a month-by-month breakdown of canine homicides since July 2006) see Dangerous and Vicious Dogs. There were 33 fatal dog attacks in 2007, 23 in 2008, and 33 in 2009.
Read The Dog Bite Law Blog on Wordpress (news and opinion) for information and commentary on recent death cases, plus updates on dog owner prosecutions and other legal news pertaining to dog ownership.
Plea to abolish the "one bite rule":
Over the past several years, the states that give every dog one free bite have seen more fatal dog attacks. (To see which states have which laws, see Legal Rights of Dog Bite Victims. See the breakdown of fatalities and state laws at Dog Bite Statistics.)
That lone statistic supports the view that the one bite rule needs to be abolished in the USA. This old English law demands little or no vigilance on the part of dog owners. A single dog owner can own one biting dog after another, without fear of civil liability, because every dog gets that one free bite, mauling or killing. (To learn more about the deadly one bite rule, see The One Bite Rule.)
Most American states and the District of Columbia have rejected the one bite rule in whole or part because its primary effect in modern times is to prevent dog bite victims from making insurance claims for anything more than medical expenses. (See Legal Rights of Dog Bite Victims in the USA for a list of the strict liability states, plus links to their laws.) Dog bites are covered by liability insurance, such as homeowners, renters and some umbrella insurance policies, but the victim still must prove that his claim rests on legal grounds. The one bite rule makes this difficult or impossible in many cases, and therefore benefits insurance companies at the expense of the injured, who are mostly children.
There should be no right to bite. The one bite rule should be rejected in every state and country. Children in one bite states like Texas, North Carolina and Maryland are entitled to the same rights as kids in strict liability states.
Tip of the month:
For August 2010: Dog owners need to keep their dogs out of malls and restaurants, and department stores and other stores have to stop people from bringing their dogs inside. Other customers have allergies and fears; the parents of little children are shopping and not on the lookout for dogs in the aisles. Handicapped people who have a legitimate need for the help of an assistance dog are starting to face confrontations because of all the other dogs that have caused problems in public places. It is not only unfair but illegal in some places to have a dog with you. Leave him at home!
Want more tips? See the Tips Archive, containing tips from prior months.
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Dog Bite Litigation Forms
Here are some of the most controversial and important cases and issues in dog bite law. These topics are for students in high school, college or law school who wish to write about dogs and the law. 
