Am I liable if my dog bites someone?

[mattttt25]

Re: Am I liable if my dog bites someone?

yes.<br /><br />and it's not lawyers. it's the person who hires one.

 

[lakelivin]

Re: Am I liable if my dog bites someone?

Originally posted by mattttt25:<br /> yes.<br /><br />and it's not lawyers. it's the person who hires one.

We blame it on the lawyers, but what about the juries? What kind of morons are delivering some of these verdicts?<br /><br />Keep in mind that SOME of the classic examples aren't usually quoted with many details. e.g., the old woman who had the coffee cup between her legs, stopped suddenly, and the top came off spilling the coffee and burning her. Turns out that McDonalds was serving the coffee extremely hot, to the point they had received numerous previous complaints about it long before this case. The lady was asking only for her actual medical expenses (maybe $1700 or so?). McD said no and went to trial. When it came out how hot they served the coffee, that a number of previous customers had formally complained about it being dangerous (some of whom had also burned themselves), and that Mc D did nothing about the serving temp, the jury ended up awarding the woman something like $17k in punative damages. McD lowered the serving temp after the case. Now I'm not saying I agree with the verdict, just that it wasn't as black & white as it seemed to be when I first heard it.<br /><br />Still, there are enough ridiculous trial awards that you've got to wonder about the intellectual capacity of the people on the jury who ultimately deliver those verdicts.

 

[SuzukiChopper]

Re: Am I liable if my dog bites someone?

Originally posted by ZmOz:<br />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.

I sometimes wonder what ever happened to just ringing the doorbell of a persons house and politely asking "Mister, would you mind grabbing my frisbee for me? It accidentally went over your fence."<br /><br />Hopping someones fence for any reason is trespassing, you do it on commercial property you'll be charged with break and enter... what's so different about personal private property?<br /><br />As stupid as it is, and as dumb and idiotic some people are, unfortunately you will be held liable. It's a sad sad world we live in these days.

 

[JasonB]

Re: Am I liable if my dog bites someone?

This one hits close to home a bit. I own a dog that could be considered to be a questionable breed - Husky. Now I can tell you there are only two things that will get you in hot water with her. Don't try to take her treat bones away unless you are our 2 year old. Second, don't make sudden moves around that 2yo unless she knows you. She won't bite to hurt on either occasion, but she will make you think she will. Outside that, your greatest danger is being slobbered and furred to death (kind of like tar/feather). This dog lives in the house and goes into our fenced back yard. Occasionally, we will let her into the rest of our yard (1 acre outside the fence), but only when we are out, and she never gets out of sight. She has gotten out once in the last 9mos and a neighbor a few houses down caught her for us. She thought she was the sweetest dog in the world.<br /><br />Now, my next door neighbor has a Rottie. This dog gets out every few days and I frequently found it in my yard before I fenced it. I don't mean to profile the breed, but I don't trust any dog, esp. a rottie or Pit, that I don't know and I'm extra uncomfortable around those two breeds. This neighbor also has friends that bring over their rotties and other dogs of similar/mixed breed and let them run loose to the point my Wife often has our Husky out to protect herself and our daughter as those dogs are often near/in our yard.<br /><br />My problem is that if one of those dogs became aggressive and either our dog protected my family or if I protected my family by whatever means needed, I would undoubtedly get sued, or at least be out a fortune in lawyer fees to protect myself.

 

[Boomyal]

Re: Am I liable if my dog bites someone?

Just to clear this up, this 'liability' problem has been created by the various legislatures. Tort law is not set by the suers or the juries or the attorneys, at least directly.<br /><br />That being said, the various legislatures are made up, by a signifigant degree, of LAWYERS. While they are serving they always retain their relationships with the various Bars. They are in essence feathering their own nests when they make up the tort laws. This is why tort reform will never happen as long as there are large numbers of lawyers in the legislatures.<br /><br />Don't forget the influence of the insurance companies as well. If I can slip on an icey sidewalk (act of nature) in front of your house and sue you I guess you'd have to pay for liability coverage to protect yourself. Don't forget also that insurance companies make most of their money of off investing your premiums untill such a time as they need to pay them out in claims. So it is no skin off their collective noses.<br /><br />If each man were accountable for himself, in most circumstances, your insurance premiums would drop like a lead ballon. Then the insurance companies wouldn't have all that money to invest.

 

[SoulWinner]

Re: Am I liable if my dog bites someone?

Rotties are the most gentile, sweet, loving and loyal breeds out there. I have had MANY different breds, but I am sold on Rotties. Sure they occasionally bite, like all other breeds, they ARE dogs. The only difference is that they are strong and when they bite they can cause serious damage, unlike Chihuahua's. <br /><br />My special little girl, Precious, will bite under certain specific circumstances. She is not vicious. However, if she ever became vicious, I would put her down. But not when she is in her back yard. That is her space. It is how she behaves in the house and out of the back yard that makes me sure she is not vicious. Beside, if some one came into my back yard and she bit them, my attorney would bury them, no matter the cost.<br /><br />As for the name calling in this post, that is just uncalled for.

 

[Nos4r2]

Re: Am I liable if my dog bites someone?

Would it make a difference if the sign said "Do not enter, Guard Dog on premises" or something like that?

 

[waterone1@aol.com]

Re: Am I liable if my dog bites someone?

You can fall into the trap set by others, that tells you to worry about everything, or go about your life and deal with things as they need to be delt with. Have the biggest, meanest dog the law allows, keep it in your yard and enjoy that protection. IF someone does get bit, do two things, if your insurance company hasn't "outlawed" your dog, then lean on them for protection (hiring lawyers, etc.) the second part is to make sure your assets are protected before the suit is filed. Anyone can sue anyone at any time, that happens, even if someone were to get a judgement against you, they still have to collect, you can make that real difficult. Has OJ Simpson paid one cent on his judgement yet...I don't think so ! Live your life as you see fit, quit worrying about stupid people.