Dog Injury Cases: Who Will Pay?

When someone’s dog bites or injures you, you can sue the owner for your injuries and damages. That much, as a basic concept, you may already know. But there are some practicalities when it comes to actually receiving the compensation that a jury might award you, after a dog bite injury case.

Just because you win a case against a negligent dog owner, doesn’t mean that that owner has any funds to satisfy the judgment; with no funds, the judgment is just a sheet of paper.

Insurance and Dog Bites

That’s why we have insurance. All of us, for example, who drive a car, or who may own a business, have liability insurance so that a victim can get paid after he or she gets a verdict or settlement. But that’s not always the case with dog owners—there’s no law that says a dog owner has to get “dog injury insurance” just because they own a dog.

Breed Exclusions

In some cases, an owner’s homeowners insurance will pay whatever the negligent dog owner owes to you.

But just because someone has insurance for a dog, doesn’t mean insurance will pay, because of exclusions. Many homeowner’s policies may exclude certain breeds. And while it’s common to say that any dog of any breed can bite, and while that may be true, these exclusions tend to exclude the breeds of dogs that tend to bite people the most.

Every policy is different; some may exclude pit bulls, rottweilers, german shepherds or bull mastiffs, others may extend to excluding coverage for huskies or akitas or great danes.

Often, people will adopt dogs from rescues and shelters, but those shelters may not even know the dog’s breed, and the dog may be a mix of 2 (or more) breeds. Regardless, the insurance company if there is a dispute over coverage, will look to what the rescue or animal shelter labeled the dog (and if you’re looking to adopt a dog, and you want to make sure you’re insured, pay attention to the breed that the shelter or rescue has labeled the dog—it could affect your ability to get insurance for injuries the dog may cause someone else).

Prior History of Aggression

In the law, it doesn’t matter if a dog has bitten someone in the past. An owner is liable for the injuries caused by a dog, no matter if the dog was a sweet kind dog that had never bitten anybody in the past.

But homeowners insurance companies don’t see it that way. Many policies exclude coverage for dogs with a history of aggression or violence, even though legally, it doesn’t matter.

Bite or Injury?

Many homeowner insurance polices will divide dog injuries with bites, again, even though the law does not. The law says an owner is liable, even if the dog accidentally injures you—accidentally trips you or scratches you playfully. But many homeowners policies will only cover one or the other—bites or injuries.

Injured by a dog? Let us help you not just win, but get compensation if you do win or settle your case.  Schedule a consultation with the Tampa personal injury lawyers at Barbas, Nunez, Sanders, Butler & Hovsepian today for help after your accident.

Sources:

investopedia.com/terms/c/canine-liability-exclusion.asp

policygenius.com/homeowners-insurance/which-dog-breeds-will-homeowners-insurance-not-cover/