Is Georgia a Strict Liability State for Dog Bites?
Georgia law holds dog owners financially liable for bites or other injuries that occur if their dogs run loose in violation of local leash laws or are known to be potentially dangerous.
Under Georgia’s dog bite law, dog owners have a legal duty to control their pets. Dog owners may be held financially responsible for injuries inflicted by their unleashed or leashed dogs regardless of whether they should have known the dog might harm someone. If the dog owner violates local leash laws requiring the animal to stay on a leash or under voice command, the owner may be liable for injuries caused by the dog.
What this means is that if you or your child, or elderly parent is attacked and injured by a dog, the Georgia dog bite attorneys at R. Alan Cleveland, LLC can help you hold the negligent dog owner accountable for your medical bills, pain, and suffering and more. Our personal injury attorneys provide professional legal representation with a personal touch. We understand the trauma that accompanies a vicious dog attack. We care about your physical and emotional recovery from your injuries, as well as your financial recovery.
Contact us today for a free consultation to discuss your legal options if you have been injured by someone else’s dog or another animal kept as a pet. We represent clients in Norcross, Atlanta, Athens, and across Georgia.
What Does Georgia’s Dog Bite Law Say?
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Georgia law holds dog owners strictly liable for bites and injuries that occur while their dogs are in violation of local leash laws, regardless of whether the animal had previously bitten anyone. Most Georgia counties have leash laws that stipulate how and when a dog must be restrained.
If a leash law violation did not occur, then the dog bite victim would need to prove that the dog should be classified as a dangerous dog in order to hold the dog owner financially accountable.
Georgia’s Responsible Dog Ownership Law
Some dogs are known to be aggressive and may be legally classified as dangerous or vicious.
Georgia law defines a dangerous dog as one that:
- Inflicts a severe injury on a human being without provocation
- Aggressively bites, attacks, or endangers the safety of humans without provocation after the dog has been classified as a potentially dangerous dog.
These definitions do not apply to dogs working with law enforcement. The law generally does not protect people who are trespassing when attacked or who were tormenting or assaulting the dog at the time or who had been known to torment or abuse the dog previously.
A dog owner may be held liable for injuries their dangerous dog inflicts injury, if:
- The dog is considered a vicious or dangerous animal and
- The owner allowed the dog to run loose or is otherwise guilty of careless management of the animal and
- The person who attacked did not provoke the dog.
Holding a Georgia Dog Owner Liable for a Bite or Attack Injury
If you have been bitten or attacked by a dog in Georgia, you may have a right to hold the dog’s owner financially responsible for the harm you have suffered. Dog bite claims are usually paid through the dog owner’s homeowner’s insurance.
Georgia ranked 7th among the top 10 states with 129 dog-related insurance claims in 2020, according to State Farm Insurance. The claims totaled $5.2 million. You should not forego a claim against a neighbor or someone else you know because you think you may harm them financially. You are most likely not taking money out of their pocket.
To be successful, a dog bite claim would show that:
- The dog was allowed to attack you
- The attack caused you physical and/or mental injury and financial loss
- Compensation can make up for your damages.
Even if you are found to be partially responsible for your injuries, you may still recover compensation. Georgia personal injury law follows a doctrine of comparative negligence, which means a court would consider how much you were at fault for your injury. If you are found to share fault, the amount of compensation awarded by a jury would be reduced accordingly.
For example, if you were beating a dog and it bit you, you would not have a valid claim. But if a dog was barking, and when you yelled at it to stop, it attacked you, you might be found partially responsible for the attack. If a jury decided that made you 20% responsible for your injuries, its original award of $100,000 in damages would be reduced to $80,000. You would be able to recover some amount of damages in a claim unless you were found to be 50% or more responsible for your injuries.
As your attorneys, we would argue the facts of the case and seek to mitigate the impact of any evidence that put blame on you. Most dog bite claims are settled through negotiations with insurers. What is the average settlement for dog bite cases in Georgia?
Children and Dog Bites in Georgia
Unfortunately, children are often the victims of dog bites. They are naturally drawn to dogs and are less likely to recognize signs that a dog is aggressive or feels threatened. Children also are less able to fend off an attacking dog.
The law and the courts recognize that at a very young age, children may unknowingly treat a dog badly and provoke a bite or an attack. Young children are not expected to understand the concept of trespassing.
Therefore, if a young child trespassed or provoked a dog that injured the child, the child’s parents may still be able to hold a negligent dog owner liable for the child’s injuries.
Contact Our Norcross Dog Bite Attorneys
If you or a loved one has been injured by a dog attack in Norcross, Atlanta, Athens, or anywhere else in Georgia, the dog bite attorneys of R. Alan Cleveland, LLC, can help you understand your legal options and seek the financial compensation available by law. While you focus on your recovery, let us gather evidence, deal with the insurers, and ensure that Georgia’s dog bite statutes are applied correctly to your claim.
Contact us today for a free and confidential legal consultation about how we can help you seek compensation Georgia law says you should have.
An Athens resident Alan Cleveland grew up in Rockdale County. As a founding partner of the personal injury law firm of R. Alan Cleveland, LLC he proudly serves his community and provides skilled representation to injury victims and their families all around Georgia. Alan earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia and went on to graduate, summa cum laude, from Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School. He is also a graduate of Gerry Spence’s renowned Trial Lawyers College (TLC) in Wyoming. In his free time, Alan frequently speaks at continuing legal education seminars. He also volunteered as a youth baseball coach and assists with Georgia’s high school moot court competition held annually. Alan serves as a Trustee of Historic Athens and is a member of the Development Authority of the Unified Government of Athens-Clarke County.
