So you or a loved one have been bitten by a dog that’s down the street or belongs to a neighbor, and you want to know what your rights are, but you hear that there’s this one bite rule. What does that mean?
Well, in Texas, unless the homeowner or the dog owner—I should say—understands and knows that their dog has vicious propensities or has actually bitten someone before, you are not allowed to recover from that person unless you can show that the person was negligent somehow in the way they handled their dog. Usually though, you’ve got to be able to show that they knew or should have known that the dog had dangerous propensities.
So how do you do that? Well, you look at the neighbors. What do the neighbors say about the dog? Has the dog in fact ever bitten or attacked someone? Has animal control been called out to the premises before?
What about the vet records? What do they say about the dog? We recently settled a case with a vicious dog that the dog owner continued to say, “he’s just a little puppy. He’s not vicious.”
When we got the vet records, the vet told them how vicious this dog was and how they should probably get rid of the dog because it’s not safe to be around children.
In any event, if you or a loved one have been seriously injured because of a dog bite, give us a call and we’ll let you know what we can or cannot do for you. I hope this has answered the questions you might have about the one bite rule.
CATEGORY: Bar Talk
