At
one time or another, many parents will be asked by their child to get a dog.
The child may promise to take care of and love the dog all by themselves. The
most common response to such a question is, “dogs are a lot of responsibility.”
At the time, children do not truly understand the real responsibility that
comes with owning a dog. They realize that the dog must be fed, walked, and
bathed, but that’s about it. Adults who own dogs face a much greater responsibility
in the form of liability. Dog owners are, to a certain extent, liable and
responsible for their dog’s actions, and that can get very expensive when
things go wrong; but how wrong can things really get?
About one-third of homeowner
insurance claims involve dog bites. This amounts to payments of over
one-billion dollars a year in compensation for dog bites alone. Moreover,
children under the age of 12-years-old are often the ones bitten on or near the
owner’s property. In addition, dog owners can be further charged for disobeying
local leash laws. It is important for owners to keep this in mind when caring
for and restraining their dogs.
Both insurance companies and the law
have a similar view when addressing dog bite cases. To put it simply, ‘every
dog is entitled to one bite’. Any future bite is considered to be the fault of
the owner. This can be referred to as the, ‘One Bite’ rule. If a dog owner
knows that their dog has a ‘vicious propensity’, a tendency to cause harm
towards others, then they are liable and must cover the damages. When a jerry
is asked to consider a case where a person is hurt by someone else’s
domesticated animal such as a dog or a horse, the jerry must find that the
animal had ‘vicious propensities’ and that the owner of the animal knew or
should have known about those vicious propensities.
Although commonly referred to as the
‘One Bite Rule’, it doesn’t necessarily require a bite. Vicious propensity is a
natural inclination or usual habit to act in a way that endangers people or
property. The jury is asked to consider the attack itself and how severe the
damages were by reason of the attack. The animal’s attitude and disposition
when people approached it are also considered as well as whether it had ever
previously attacked another person. Keep in mind it is not necessary to find
that the animal had previously bitten or injured someone. A jerry can find that
an animal had vicious propensities if the nature and frequency of its acts
provided reasonable grounds to believe that it might cause an injury. For
example, a dog growling when being approached by a child, bearing its teeth,
and running aggressively toward pedestrians all can be evidence that the animal
has vicious propensities.
If you do get hurt by a domestic animal
such as a dog or a horse, our duty as lawyers is to check into the facts of the
case. This involves interviewing witnesses who may have had previous contact
with the animal and thoroughly investigating the history of the dog. If you or
a loved one is harmed by a domesticated animal, contact us at:
367
West Main Street
Malone,
NY 12953
Phone:
(518) 483-1440
Toll
Free: 1-800-924-3529
-Joseph
Nichols
-Paul
Nichols
No comments:
Post a Comment