Dog Bites

The experience of Casey Gerry’s
San Diego dog bite and types of dog bite cases

Dog owners are liable when their dog bites someone, and the victim does not have to prove fault or negligence (strict liability) for the consequences. Cases have also held dog owners responsible where the dog was not actually successful in biting its victim, but the attacked individual was injured while trying to escape. Many counties in California have a leash law that requires dogs to be restrained by a leash six feet or shorter. Violation of this statute provides another basis for holding the dog owner responsible.

The owner of property has a legal obligation to make sure his property is safe. As a result, landlords or property owners can be held responsible for injuries caused by someone else’s dog, if they knew or should have known about the dog’s aggressive propensities but failed to take action to make sure their property was safe.

Casey Gerry dog bite attorneys recently won a case in Riverside in which two children, 2 and 5, were being cared for at the home of a sitter who owned a pit bull terrier. The sitter left the children unattended in the yard, and looked out to see the pit bull tossing the two-year old in the air like a rag doll. The dog bit and mauled the child, and she ultimately died from the attack. The owners of the property were well aware of the dog’s dangerous propensities; less than a month earlier the same dog had bitten a guest at their home, on the same property. Our San Diego dog bite attorneys determined that they had taken no action to restrain the dog, and they were found responsible for the dog’s attack. Nothing could restore the child’s life, but Casey Gerry’s dog bite attorneys saw to it that the parents received financial compensation for their loss.