Our Pittsburgh Lawyers have heard it all over 24+ years! We’ve encountered nearly every defense imaginable to a dog bite injury claim in Western Pennsylvania. Below is a partial list of some of the more interesting assertions made, by people trying to escape liability for injuries resulting from an animal attack.
#1. “I do not own the dog,” or “it was my girlfriend’s dog, or “check the license, my name is not on it!”
Liability For “Harboring”
In Pennsylvania, to recover money for injuries from a dog bite, it is not necessary to prove that the defendant owned the dangerous animal. According to Pennsylvania Dog Law, responsibility can exist for merely harboring a dangerous dog. This means that any person in possession of a dog can be liable for the dog’s attack. Such persons may include a babysitter, dog sitter, friend walking the dog. So, for example, if the dog entrusted to family member attacks an Amazon, Uber Eats, or UPS driver, then liability may exist for both the dog owner and family member watching the dog.
Owner Liability
Plus, the owner can also be liable, in addition to the person watching the dog, for failing to warn others of the dog’s dangerous propensities. For example, the dog owner must tell a dog sitter about known dangerous characteristics of the dog, such as the propensity to jump a fence, excessive pulling.
#2 “My dog only caused a scratch or puncture, so what?”
A valid dog bite claim can exist for any physical harm caused by a dog, which can include a scratch or puncture not requiring surgery or sutures. In fact, every bite must be taken seriously due to the risk of rabies or an infection.
Small Scars Can Be Permanent Reminders…
When it comes to small scars from an animal attack, a significant claim can exist for any permanent change to a person’s appearance — however slight. Any change to the appearance of skin will suffice, including discoloration, an indentation, or a change to the texture of skin. Major disfigurement need not be proven. A Pittsburgh dog bite attorney can make the argument that a scar, however tiny, can be seen daily by the victim. This daily reminder of the attack can cause prolonged emotional distress.
#3. “The leash (or muzzle or harness or chain) Broke! That’s not my fault, right?!”
Any person who owns or harbors a dog must take reasonable steps to restrain the dog. Otherwise, liability will exist for not securing the dog. This could include the failure to:
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- Inspect for wear and tear any leash, chain, rope, harness or muzzle used to restrain the dog,
- Select physical restraints of suitable material and strength, given the physical dimensions of the dog (size and weight), and
- Training the dog to obey commands to lessen the dependence upon physical restraints. In other words, it is foreseeable that any restrain could fail.
Partial Defense
Thus, the failure of a physical restraint may not be a compete defense to a dog bite claim. A “broken restraint” defense may, however, constitute a partial defense. This applies if, for example, the owner had reason to believe the restrain should suffice. Evidence of one’s own reasonable behavior can help the dog owner negotiate down the value of a dog bite claim. This is especially true if the defective of restraint (broken collar or leash) had come as a total surprise to the dog owner.
#4. “My Dog Never Bit the Person Suing Me…”
An actual bite is not necessary, for a dog owner to face liability for money damages for his aggressive animal’s conduct. This comes up in two situations.
Fleeing Case
First, a person can be injured while fleeing a dog. This can happen from slipping, tripping, falling, or running into something. One of our cases involved a woman who had fallen off her bike, when chased by a dog. In each of these instances, liability can attach to the dog owner even if his dog never bites anyone.
Emotional Distress From Witnessing an Attack
Can a claim for injuries (from an animal attack) exist on the part a person who merely witnessed another get attacked? The answer is, sometimes, yes. There are two prerequisites to such a claim.
First, the person attacked must be a family member. Secondly, the person witnessing the attack must experience contemporaneous emotional distress. Our Pittsburgh lawyers have successfully advanced dog bite claims where our client was never bitten. Here, it helps to retain a Pittsburgh Dog Bite Lawyer who is aware of the nuances of the law in this area, to be successful.
#5 “My dog only gets upset when another person or dog antagonizes it.”
The fact that a dog was antagonized or provoked is a pretty good defense to a claim for injuries resulting from the provocation. However, if the dog was known by the owner to be particularly sensitive, the owner or person harboring the dog must take special precautions in light of the dog’s sensitivity to provocation. This easily triggered animal may require a muzzle, harness, extra restraints, or total isolation. The failure to restrain a dog with known sensitivities may create liability. Your Pittsburgh dog bite attorney should evaluate all the facts, to ascertain exactly what the dog owner had known about the dog, prior to the attack.
The attorney should subpoena records from animal control, the dog’s veterinarian(s), and from any place where the dog was kenneled, to learn more about the dog’s particular sensitivities as known by the owner.
#6. “My dog has never bitten before. Don’t I get ‘one free bite’?”
No. Pennsylvania has long since done away with the “one free bite” rule. It is no longer an absolute defense that the dog has never actually bitten, before. Moreover, strict liability exists for serious injuries or where the incident violates criminal law. For example, the crimes code in Pennsylvania requires reasonable restraint of a dog.
Proof of Fault – Even Without a Prior Bite
Moreover, even when no criminal law is violated — and dog owner “fault” must be shown — lots of things can place the dog owner on notice of his dog’s dangerous propensities. This is true even in the absence of a prior bite. These things include:
- Excessive barking by the dog
- The dog jumping up on guests or strangers
- The dog spending significant time in a kennel or crate.
All of these things, individually, are not serious. However, any one of these things can serve to put the dog owner on notice of his animal’s dangerous propensities. With this, the dog owner should take his duty to defend a dog-related-claim very seriously.
Bring and Defending Dog Bite Claims in Western PA
Reach out to a Pittsburgh lawyer at our dog bite firm to evaluate the strength of any claim or defense related to an attack by a dog or other animal in Pennsylvania. Call our Western PA lawyers any time for a free consultation.
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