(626) 584-5744
A dog bite happens fast. One second a dog is calm, the next its teeth are in your arm, and you are left with torn skin, a trip to the ER, and a pile of questions. The biggest one is usually this: can you even make a claim if the dog never bit anyone before? In California, the answer is yes. The law here is far friendlier to bite victims than you might expect.
California does not give dogs a free pass
Some states follow what lawyers call the one-bite rule. In those places, a dog basically gets one free bite, and the victim has to prove the owner already knew the dog was dangerous. California threw that rule out.
Here we use strict liability for dog bites, written right into the state civil code. It means the owner is responsible the first time, whether or not the dog had ever shown a mean streak. You do not have to prove the owner was careless. You do not have to prove they knew. You only have to show the dog bit you, and that you were somewhere you had a right to be.
Where the bite happened still matters
Strict liability has limits, and one of them is where you were standing. The law protects you if you were in a public place, like a Pasadena sidewalk or a park, or if you were lawfully on private property. Lawfully is the key word here.
A mail carrier on the porch is covered. A guest invited to a backyard barbecue is covered. Someone who climbed a fence into a stranger’s yard is not. If you were trespassing, or if you were teasing or provoking the dog, the owner can push back on the claim. Short of that, the bite alone is usually enough.
The costs add up faster than you think
A dog bite is more than a puncture wound. Deep bites get infected. Many need stitches, and some need surgery or a plastic surgeon when the scarring lands on a face or a hand. Then there is the part people forget, which is the fear. Kids especially can carry a real dread of dogs for years after one bad afternoon.
All of it counts toward your claim. A full claim can cover your medical bills and your lost wages. It can also cover future scar treatment and the pain and trauma you lived through.
Who actually pays for it
Here is the good news for your wallet. The money almost never comes straight out of the dog owner’s pocket. It usually comes from their homeowners or renters insurance, which is built to cover exactly this. So a claim is not about punishing a neighbor or a friend. It is about using the policy that already exists for a day like this.
The insurance company, of course, will still try to pay you as little as it can. That is where having someone in your corner changes the number on the check.
Do not wait to protect your claim
California gives you two years from the date of the bite to file. That sounds like a while, but the proof fades fast. Wounds heal, which is why photos from the first day matter so much. Witnesses forget. Animal control reports get harder to track down. The sooner you write down what happened and see a doctor, the stronger your claim will be.
If a dog bit you or your child anywhere in Pasadena or the San Gabriel Valley, find out what your claim is worth before you talk to the insurance company. McNally Law has helped injured people across Pasadena and Los Angeles for years, and the first call is free. Call (626) 584-5744 and tell us what happened.
