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Pike & Lustig, LLP. We see solutions where others see problems.

What To Do After A Dog Bite Incident

West Palm Beach Business Litigation Attorney 2023-01-26 16-49-13

Dog bites are one of the most common personal injury claims and one of the saddest for both human and animal. If you are bit by a dog, it’s important that you see a doctor within eight hours of a dog bite, he says. Waiting longer raises your infection risk. If you have diabetes or are immunocompromised, your infection risk is even greater. The Cleveland Clinic recommends the following 7 steps to take for a dog bite injury:

  1. Wash the wound. Use mild soap, and run warm tap water over it for five to 10 minutes.
  2. Slow the bleeding with a clean cloth.
  3. Apply over-the counter antibiotic cream if you have it.
  4. Wrap the wound in a sterile bandage.
  5. Keep the wound bandaged and see your doctor.
  6. Change the bandage several times a day once your doctor has examined the wound.
  7. Watch for signs of infection, including redness, swelling, increased pain and fever.

If you are bit by a dog, it’s up to you to decide whether to press charges. Please consider the situation carefully before filing. Florida’s statute of limitations on personal injury cases (Florida Statutes section 95.11) gives you four years from the day of the injury to file a personal injury complaint in court. Florida’s dog bite statute, which can be found at Florida Statutes section 767.04 states the following:

“Dog owner’s liability for damages to persons bitten.—The owner of any dog that bites any person while such person is on or in a public place, or lawfully on or in a private place, including the property of the owner of the dog, is liable for damages suffered by persons bitten, regardless of the former viciousness of the dog or the owners’ knowledge of such viciousness. However, any negligence on the part of the person bitten that is a proximate cause of the biting incident reduces the liability of the owner of the dog by the percentage that the bitten person’s negligence contributed to the biting incident. A person is lawfully upon private property of such owner within the meaning of this act when the person is on such property in the performance of any duty imposed upon him or her by the laws of this state or by the laws or postal regulations of the United States, or when the person is on such property upon invitation, expressed or implied, of the owner. However, the owner is not liable, except as to a person under the age of 6, or unless the damages are proximately caused by a negligent act or omission of the owner, if at the time of any such injury the owner had displayed in a prominent place on his or her premises a sign easily readable including the words “Bad Dog.” The remedy provided by this section is in addition to and cumulative with any other remedy provided by statute or common law.”

Furthermore, Florida is a “strict liability” state which means a Florida dog owner may be held liable if their dog bites someone, even if it’s the first time the dog has ever lashed out. Section 767.04 specifically states that the dog owner is “liable for damages suffered by persons bitten, regardless of the former viciousness of the dog or the owners’ knowledge of such viciousness.”

However, there are three potential defenses to a dog bite claim:

  1. If the person bitten was trespassing
  2. Comparative negligence (the plaintiff was being negligent)
  3. If an explicit “Bad Dog”-type sign is posted*

*You should be aware that such a sign won’t protect an owner if the dog bite victim is under six years of age, or if the owner was negligent in connection with the incident.

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