Guide · Updated
After a dog bite: what to do and what to know
A dog bite can happen at a neighbor’s house, on a walk or at work. The first steps are simple: get care, find out whose dog it was, and keep a record. After that, your state’s rules decide a lot. Some states make the owner pay for a bite even if the dog never hurt anyone before. Others don’t.
Right away
Step 1: Get care, then find out whose dog it was
- Get medical careSee a doctor, even for a small bite. Tell the doctor a dog bit you, and ask about infection and rabies shots. How to get your medical records explains how to get copies later.
- Find out who owns the dogGet the owner’s name, address and phone number. Ask if the dog’s rabies shots are up to date. In Arizona, the owner, or the person caring for the dog, must give you the owner’s contact information4.
- Take photosPhotograph your wounds on the day of the bite and as they heal. Photograph the place, any gate or fence, and the dog if you can do it safely.
- Get namesWrite down anyone who saw it happen. Keep torn or bloody clothes as they are.
Good to know
Step 2: States have different rules for dog bites
In some states, a law makes a dog’s owner pay for a bite even if the dog was never mean before. The owner may not have known it could bite. Florida, Michigan, Arizona and Washington are examples1246. In these four states, the law covers you if you were in a public place or were lawfully on private property. That includes the owner’s own property.
In Ohio, the law covers the dog’s owner and also its keeper or harborer (someone who looks after or houses the dog)3. It covers any injury the dog causes, not only a bite.
Other states may ask whether the owner knew the dog was dangerous, or whether the owner was careless. Your state’s page has its main injury rules.
Good to know
Step 3: What can change the outcome
- Was the dog provoked?Michigan’s law covers a bite “without provocation”2. In Ohio, the law doesn’t cover someone who was teasing, tormenting or abusing the dog on the owner’s property3.
- Why were you there?If you were on private property, the laws above ask whether you were there lawfully. In Ohio, the law doesn’t cover someone who was trespassing or committing certain crimes on the owner’s property3.
- A “Bad Dog” sign in FloridaIn Florida, an easy-to-read “Bad Dog” sign in a prominent place can protect the owner. It doesn’t apply if the person bitten is under 6. It also doesn’t apply if the owner was careless1.
Within weeks
Step 4: Who usually pays
The claim is against the dog’s owner, or in some states the keeper. Often a homeowner’s or renter’s insurance company handles it. Talking to the other side’s insurance company has tips that also apply here.
If a dog bit you at work, workers’ compensation may apply, with its own forms and deadlines.
This week
Step 5: Your deadline to file
Every state sets a deadline to file an injury lawsuit. A dog-bite claim may have a different deadline from other injuries. Find your state’s deadline. You can also check Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Arizona and Washington.
When you’re ready
Step 6: If you want a lawyer
You don’t have to hire one. A lawyer can find out who owned or kept the dog, find any insurance, and gather records about the dog. They can also deal with the insurance company for you. See what a personal injury lawyer does.
If you talk to firms, bring your photos, the owner’s details, any report number and your medical records. Ask how often they handle dog bites. See how to choose a personal injury lawyer and how contingency fees work.
Dog bite rules in your state
The deadline to file and the other rules for a dog bite case are set by each state. Pick yours.
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
When you’re ready
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Where the legal facts on this page come from
- Fla. Stat. § 767.04 (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. … 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.”Read the source: Fla. Stat. § 767.04 (dog owner’s liability for damages to persons bitten)
- Mich. Comp. Laws § 287.351 (person bitten by dog; liability of owner)“(1) If a dog bites a person, without provocation while the person is on public property, or lawfully on private property, including the property of the owner of the dog, the owner of the dog shall be liable for any damages suffered by the person bitten, regardless of the former viciousness of the dog or the owner's knowledge of such viciousness. (2) A person is lawfully on the private property of the owner of the dog within the meaning of this act if the person is on the owner's 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 if the person is on the owner's property as an invitee or licensee of the person lawfully in possession of the property unless said person has gained lawful entry upon the premises for the purpose of an unlawful or criminal act.”Read the source: Mich. Comp. Laws § 287.351 (person bitten by dog; liability of owner)
- Ohio Rev. Code § 955.28(B) (liability of a dog’s owner, keeper or harborer)“(B) The owner, keeper, or harborer of a dog is liable in damages for any injury, death, or loss to person or property that is caused by the dog, unless the injury, death, or loss was caused to the person or property of an individual who, at the time, was committing or attempting to commit criminal trespass or another criminal offense other than a minor misdemeanor on the property of the owner, keeper, or harborer, or was committing or attempting to commit a criminal offense other than a minor misdemeanor against any person, or was teasing, tormenting, or abusing the dog on the owner's, keeper's, or harborer's property. …”Read the source: Ohio Rev. Code § 955.28(B) (liability of a dog’s owner, keeper or harborer)
- Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 11-1025 (liability for dog bites; owner information)“A. The owner of a dog that bites a person when the person is in or on a public place or lawfully in or on a private place, including the property of the owner of the dog, is liable for damages suffered by the person bitten, regardless of the former viciousness of the dog or the owner's knowledge of its viciousness. B. A person who owns or is responsible for the care of a dog that bites a person when the person is in or on a public place or lawfully in or on a private place, including the property of the owner of the dog, shall provide the owner's contact information to the person who suffered the dog bite. …”Read the source: Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 11-1025 (liability for dog bites; owner information)
- Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 12-541 (one-year limitation, including liability created by statute)“There shall be commenced and prosecuted within one year after the cause of action accrues, and not afterward, the following actions: … 5. Upon a liability created by statute, other than a penalty or forfeiture.”Read the source: Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 12-541 (one-year limitation, including liability created by statute)
- Rev. Code Wash. § 16.08.040 (dog bites — liability)“(1) The owner of any dog which shall bite any person while such person is in or on a public place or lawfully in or on a private place including the property of the owner of such dog, shall be liable for such damages as may be suffered by the person bitten, regardless of the former viciousness of such dog or the owner's knowledge of such viciousness. (2) This section does not apply to the lawful application of a police dog, as defined in RCW 4.24.410.”Read the source: Rev. Code Wash. § 16.08.040 (dog bites — liability)
This is general information, not legal advice.