Am I liable if my dog bites someone?

[ZmOz]

I have a very angry dog that lives in my fenced backyard. If a stranger comes near him, they WILL be his dinner. Ocassionally some moron will find his way into my backyard, ignoring the beware of dog sign. A few days ago I watched from an upstairs window as some kid climbed the fence to get a frisby, and barely escaped with all his digits. <br /><br />Anyway, if some idiot ends up inside my locked gate, and the dog bites him, am I liable for that?

 

[CJY]

Re: Am I liable if my dog bites someone?

Here in Ohio, as stupid as it is, yes. In Ohio, if a kid is teasing my dog through the fence and gets to close and ends up bitten, I am liable.

 

[Pascal]

Re: Am I liable if my dog bites someone?

What I allus understood was that a beware of dog sign was a prior admission that you had a problem dog. <br /><br />The neighbor kid got a boost over the fence into our yard awhile back to get a ball.... funny thing is, he never needed a boost to get back in his yard tho..... must be the adrenlin rush from the dog a commin on that makes the fence a foot shorter goin back home. It don't help them any when they would throw rocks and poke stickes thru the fence at our dog either.<br /><br />JD

 

[roscoe]

Re: Am I liable if my dog bites someone?

Yes.<br />When I was a kid, my dog was removed from a locked kennel. It then bit the kid. We (dad) was liable.<br /><br />2 weeks later the same kid did it again. This time the dog did a better job and got him good in the leg, along with another kid.<br /><br />3 Bites and you're dead in WI, had to have him put to sleep.<br /><br />He was just a little cocker mix that the kids would steal, then tease.

 

[Boomyal]

Re: Am I liable if my dog bites someone?

Same as a swimmin pool. Put up as big a fence as you want and the lawyers have it fixed that you are still liable when the uninvited neighbor kid drowns in your pool.<br /><br />Can you blame em, the lawyers have to have someone to sue to keep up their lifestyle.

 

[brother chris]

Re: Am I liable if my dog bites someone?

Pretty much everywhere you are liable for such an incident. <br />It does not make sense to me though. If you have signs up, that are clearly visable, that should be good enough. But that is just my opinion, I'm not a politician.

 

[snapperbait]

Re: Am I liable if my dog bites someone?

Yes.... <br /><br />But am I liable, if I bite the dog back?.......

 

[Homerr]

Re: Am I liable if my dog bites someone?

Get a cat!<br /><br />Then it's someone else's problem! (see Reel Poor's post on his neighbor's cat) <br /><br /><br />It's totally BS, but yes... you are liable.<br />Makes about as much sense if a scumbag breaks into YOUR locked home and hurts himself in the process... YOU'RE liable.<br /><br />Gotta love our 'Land-O-lawyers'.<br /><br />I'd love to have a dog, but for the liability reasons alone... It's not worth it.<br /><br />H.

 

[magster65]

Re: Am I liable if my dog bites someone?

Snap, You'd be put down right after the dog's lawyer took you to the cleaners!

 

[ZmOz]

Re: Am I liable if my dog bites someone?

Originally posted by Homerr:<br /> Get a cat!<br />

Got one...she terrorizes the neighborhood too. She's about 13 years old, looks almost malnurished, (though she eats plenty) but I still see her chasing all the other cats.

 

[BoatBuoy]

Re: Am I liable if my dog bites someone?

Originally posted by ZmOz:<br /> ...Ocassionally some moron will find his way into my backyard...

If you have a dangerous dog and know it, you're the moron. They're in the news regularly - their pit bull wouldn't "hurt a flee"; "he somehow got out of his pen" and then chews a little 3-year old girl to death.<br /><br />If a stranger comes near him, they WILL be his dinner.<br /><br />Yea and yo mama be visitin you every third sunday at the state pen.

 

[SS MAYFLOAT]

Re: Am I liable if my dog bites someone?

Some times I can't understand why things are the way they are. Here is an example:<br /><br />A red traffic light means stop until green and then proceed only if the intersection is clear. Okay we all know what a red light means. Disregard the traffic light, get hit and your at fault.<br /><br />A Beware of Dog sign means that there is a possibility of a dog attack. Proceed and get bit and it is the owners fault <br /><br />This has become a country of making others responsible for your own actions. Lets keep paying attorneys to place the blame on others. <br /><br />Another stupid example: A deer runs out and your car gets totalled. Insurance pays and nobody is at fault. A farm animal runs out and totals a car, the animals owner is at fault. A kid runs out in the street and gets hit, the driver is usually at fault and sometimes the parent is charged for neglect.<br /><br />And people wonder why so many are confused <br /><br />My dog is a great loving dog, but go up to him and annoy him without him knowing you, he will snap at you. This worries me because I'm affraid that I may have to put him down because of someone not following my adivice on how to approach him. He won't bite them, but someone could say that he tried to and that he is a viscious dog. Yep, I know I'm responsible, but why should I be liable for someones stupidity.<br /><br />This world keeps getting crazier by the day.

 

[one more cast]

Re: Am I liable if my dog bites someone?

Its not just the lawyers. Its the greedy people that sue, the lawmakers and the judges.

 

[craze1cars]

Re: Am I liable if my dog bites someone?

To answer this question, a huge YES.<br /><br />But here's another twist to this topic...about 10 years ago when I was an auto appraiser for a major insurance company (to be unnamed at this time, but trust me, you've heard of them) I was temporarily put on a huge special-project task force that was put together with one purpose:<br /><br />To drive by every individual home in the USA that we insure, look for what "appeared to be" vicious breeds (they gave us a list of breeds/photos including pit bulls, rotts, dobermans, german shepards, akitas, mixes of any of the above, and I forget what else), take a digital photo of the dog (sometimes quietly sleeping, wagging it's tail, or on one occasion actually licking my hand) and document the address, and turn it in to our underwriting department.<br /><br />Didn't matter if they were fenced or chained, friendly or barking...if they were inside a window or outside the house, attended or unattended. If we caught it on a camera, the company sent a letter and simply "non-renewed" (the legal way for insurance companies to cancel a customer who has done nothing specifically wrong) the customer at their next renewal date. Didn't even give them a warning or a chance to get rid of the dog. Just sent 'em packing....Then they rewrote their insurance policies and applications to exclude homeowners coverage to anyone with these breeds or mixes of these breeds.<br /><br />Why did they do this? Dog bite liability claims were rapidly destroying their profitability. So they basically cancelled everyone with a dog that "appeared" vicious.<br /><br />This is common practice in the insurance industry. If you have any of those breeds and they find out, it is likely your claim will be denied or you will be cancelled. And the fine print in your homeowners policy usually stipulates that the insurance company is free to inspect your property at any time, unannounced. And they DO have spies are out there, so beware.

 

[Limited-Time]

Re: Am I liable if my dog bites someone?

craze1,<br /> I have never even been questioned as to whether or not I owned a dog prior to obtaining insurance coverage. So how can I be denied a claim on that basis? I am not withholding information, or hiding anything. There is nothing in my policy that applies any stipulations regarding dog ownership. I don't deny that happens just seems like a crock of Sh** to me.<br /><br />BTW ZmOz as every else stated YES you are liable, just as you are liable for all damages if you dog gets loose, runs out in front of a car and causes an accident.

 

[KaGee]

Re: Am I liable if my dog bites someone?

Originally posted by snapperbait:<br /> Yes.... <br /><br />But am I liable, if I bite the dog back?.......

Only if you failed to get your rabies shot!<br />(Somehow, I believe you would do it!)

 

[KRS]

Re: Am I liable if my dog bites someone?

Hello ZmOz, will answer by asking questions (don't you hate people that do that?):<br /><br />Is it okay to drive a car with bad brakes, as long as you have a sign?<br /><br />How about leaving a gun out around kids, as long as there is a sign?<br /><br />You are completely responsible for any action that dog takes, whether on your property or not. Maime some kid or worse.... and you'll prolly lose everything.

 

[JGREGORY]

Re: Am I liable if my dog bites someone?

I think this may have been said, But remove the sign, It admits you have a nasty dog. Replace them with "No Trespassing" this way you can reverse the tables if it should go to court. This is the recomendation from the vet I worked for when I was in High school and a family member who is a blood sucking lawyer.

 

[kenimpzoom]

Re: Am I liable if my dog bites someone?

At my expense, the difference between your examples and ZmOz questions is that the dog is on his property. Stay off his property and you wont get bit.<br /><br />To each his own, but I still dont understand why anyone would own a dog like that. <br /><br /><br />Ken

 

[sid the squid]

Re: Am I liable if my dog bites someone?

If your dog is big enough to consume the entire body there will be no evidence left for the lawyers.