Everybody’s heard the old phrase “a dog is a man’s best friend.” And most of the time, that’s true. We all love our furry four-legged friends. Nowadays, a lot of us treat our dogs as if they were our own children (and sometimes even better). A trip to your local grocery store will quickly confirm this. Go check out your local Publix in Broward or Palm Beach, and you’ll likely see an entire aisle dedicated to animal food and supplies.
The thing is, some dogs aren’t so friendly. So, the question is, what happens when somebody’s dog isn’t too friendly after all and ends up biting you?
Can the dog’s owner be responsible for injuries caused by their dog?
In Florida, we have a statute specifically dealing with dog bite injuries. Florida Statutes Section 767.04 states in relevant part that: “The owner of any dog that bites any person while such person is on or in a public place, or lawfully on or in a private place, including the property of the owner of the dog, is liable for damages suffered by persons bitten, regardless of the former viciousness of the dog or the owners’ knowledge of such viciousness.”
In other words, there’s no one-free-bite law in Florida. It doesn’t matter if the dog has no history of viciousness or aggressiveness. Florida law imposes strict liability on the dog owner when the dog-bite victim is in a public place or lawfully at a private place.
You could be walking on the sidewalk, riding in an elevator, eating at a restaurant, or doing any number of other activities outside your home. Whatever the case, in many instances, if somebody’s dog bites you, that dog’s owner is strictly liable for your injuries.
What this all means is that, with some exceptions, a dog owner can be legally liable when their dog bites you, regardless of whether the dog’s owner was actually negligent.
What if there’s a “Bad Dog” sign posted at the premises?
But as we said, like with any rule, there are some exceptions.
The most important exception to the strict liability rule in Florida dog bite cases is when the dog owner puts up an easily readable sign on their property stating the words “Bad Dog” or some other comparable language.
If the owner puts up such a sign and displays it in a prominent place on the premises, the strict liability rule goes away. That means that, if the dog owner puts up the appropriate sign at their property and you are bitten by a dog at the premises, you would have to show that the dog owner was negligent in order to recover for your injuries (except if the dog bite victim is under the age of 6, in which case there is still strict liability even when the owner puts up the appropriate signage; the idea probably is that children under 6 cannot read the sign and know to avoid the dog).
What if the dog is owned by the state or local government?
One other thing to keep in mind is that Florida’s strict liability law for dog bites does not apply against the state of Florida or its cities, counties, and state agencies. This is because you usually can’t bring a strict liability claim against the state government. If you are bitten by a dog owned by the state of Florida or one of its municipalities or government agencies, you’ll have to prove negligence instead without the benefit of the strict liability statute.
What you should do after a dog bite
If you are unlucky enough to be bitten by a dog, here are a few things you should do right away:
- Wash your wound very thoroughly with soap and warm water for at least a few minutes. You want to get the wound and the surrounding areas as clean as you possibly can.
- Use some Neosporin or other antibiotic ointment. Make sure to put the antibiotic ointment directly on the wound and the surrounding skin.
- After you’ve cleaned the wound sufficiently, you’ll want to cover the wound with a bandage. You don’t want to be walking around with an uncovered, open wound on your body.
- Go to the doctor and get your wound examined.
Be mindful of rabies
If you are bitten by a dog and can speak with the dog’s owner, make sure to ask them if the dog is up to date with its rabies shots. Unfortunately, dogs can be carriers of rabies. If infected, a dog can even transfer the virus to humans through saliva via bites and scratches.
This next part is especially important if you are bitten by a stray dog: Go to the hospital emergency room right away!
You never know whether a stray dog might be carrying rabies. Believe it or not, a dog can have rabies even if it’s not acting erratic and salivating or foaming at the mouth. When it comes to stray dogs, you just never know. So, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Rabies is incurable and considered nearly 100% fatal once symptoms start to appear. Thankfully, rabies is also 100% preventable if you get timely vaccinated. If you are bitten by a stray dog, go to the hospital right away and get your rabies vaccine and immunoglobulin injections so you don’t have to worry about whether the dog that bit you was actually sick. After a dog bite, the rabies vaccine treatment regimen might literally save your life.
Call our office for a free consultation
Our attorneys have represented numerous victims in dog bite cases across Florida. If you’ve been bitten by a dog in Broward or Palm Beach, or anywhere else in Florida, call our office today at 954-982-8960 for a free consultation to discuss your options.