Federal Law, For a Pooch Harming Others?
While there exists no federal Dog Bite Law, each state has its own rules governing civil liability for an animal attack. Thus, to learn your right to compensation, you must look to the state law where the bite occurred. Most states follow a strict liability standard. However, Pennsylvania is different, requiring proof of negligence in many instances.
What About “Federal Property,” Like an Airport?
No federal law exists to create liability for a dog’s damaging behavior, even on federal property or places governed by federal law, such as an airport. You look to the law of the state where the property is located. However, if a post office or airport has special rules for dogs, violation of the rules can prove a claim under state law. So for example, let’s say the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) decides all dogs must be muzzled in airports (which is not currently the law). There, the failure to muzzle your dog in an airport can prove your state law claim for negligence.
Why is There No National Law Here?
In the United States, power is divided between the states and national level, in part to prevent the US Congress from making uniform rules in regions of the country where different values exist. It also allows the states to act as their own “laboratories of democracy,” as U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis put it.
In fact, in the US, almost every aspect of life is governed by state law versus the laws of Congress:
- Adoption,
- Custody,
- Divorce,
- Wills,
- Driving Laws and Licensing,
- The requirements for a valid agreement, and
- The death penalty.
Contact Us Today
Contact our Pittsburgh lawyers for a free consultation about any animal attack claim on an adult or child.