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Drug
Litigation/Drug Recall | Auto Accidents |
Medical
Malpractice FLORIDA DOG
BITE CLAIMS CALL FOR YOUR FREE CONSULTATION WITH FLORIDA BAR BOARD CERTIFIED CIVIL TRIAL LAWYER, MARK J. LEEDS. IF THERE IS NO RECOVERY, WE DO NOT CHARGE YOU ATTORNEY’S FEES OR COSTS. NOTE: The Florida Bar has no specific categories of lawyer for individual types of cases within the area of personal injury. “Your Florida Dog Bite Accident Lawyer” As a Florida Dog Bite Lawyer, I
am highly experienced in the handling of dog bite cases, including
and especially involving minor children and household pets of a neighbor
or playmate. This section is a general overview, and does not discuss
dog bites by trained police or attack dogs, or attacks by dogs brought
to work by an employee. Florida Dog Bite Lawyers want to know all of the details about how the attack happened. YOUR FIRST CONSULTATION: Some common questions: • Was there a visible warning
sign about the dog on the property? MATERIALS YOU SHOULD GATHER: • Medical bills and records DEADLINE FOR FILING A LAWSUIT: Unless your injury occurred due to the involvement of a government, municipality or law enforcement agency, or unless you were bitten on a cruise ship or at an amusement park or other place where there is a more strict statute of limitations, there is a 4 year statute of limitations on dog bites, generally, in Florida. If you want to determine if you are in the 4 year statute of limitations or if your dog bite case or claim has a shorter statute of limitations, then please call me toll and legal charge free for a consultation. THE LIMIT ON PAIN AND SUFFERING DAMAGES: There is a limited amount of pain and suffering damages. These damages are called “non-economic damages.” Depending on the date of the incident and/or the date of filing the lawsuit, Florida has several different legislative and constitutional amendments and changes in recent history, with more proposed and soon to be determined. Your Florida Dog Bite Lawyer will need to identify what limits apply to your claim. There is presently a law which is about to go into effect concerning division of responsibilities for payment of all pain and suffering damages among multiple parties to a lawsuit. Your Florida Dog Bite Lawyer can advise you further about this. With regard to the limits on what we Florida Dog Bite Lawyers call “economic damages” which basically means medical bills and lost wages, past, present and future, at present there are no limits, but as of this writing, legislation has been signed with regard to the division of payment responsibilities between responsible negligent parties, in the event that more than one party is responsible for your injuries. PUNITIVE DAMAGES: There are damages which are awarded in outrageous cases. These damages are often available in cases where the dog has been permitted to bite a victim while unrestrained and where the dog has previously bitten someone. AGGRESSIVE ACTION ENOUGH TO SUE: There are some important considerations
in the dog bite law of Florida. Fla. Stat 767.05 requires an affirmative
or aggressive act by the dog. MINOR CHILDREN: Please note that not all Florida dog bite accident lawyers handle cases up to trial. Some Florida dog bite lawyers prefer to settle the case, especially when the settlement results in a trust fund for a minor child victim, which commonly includes in the amount of settlement a sum for future cosmetic surgery. Injuries to minor children often require additional time lapse with repeated psychological tests over time so as to determine the true psychological damage/injuries. Complaints of crying, bed wetting, nightmares and sometimes fear of the family pet, even if that pet was a small dog and biting dog was large, are not uncommon. Children under age 6 are one of the exceptions to a dog owners qualified legal immunity, even if there is a posted “bad dog” sign. LEASH LAWS: Florida does not have a specific statewide leash law. Instead, most municipalities have enacted local ordinances about leashing a dog. Sometimes, even if there is no such local ordinance, there are bylaws of a homeowners association which call for leashing the animal. PIT BULLS: Often people presume that the Pit Bull is the most common dog to be involved in a dog bite attack. In fact, the most frequent biting dog is the Dalmatian. And, smaller dogs can leave a nasty dog bite as well. The Florida Dog Bite Law is also different from dog bite laws elsewhere in most cases. DOG OWNERS AND POSTED “BAD DOG” SIGNS: The most basic Florida Statute about dog bites is found at Florida Statute 767.04 entitled “Dog owner’s liability for damages to persons bitten”. This particular law is
about a biting that happens on the owners property. I will write more
about the liability of a non-homeowner in other parts of this information.
This law states basically, that owners of their dogs are responsible
for the dog biting someone “regardless of the prior viciousness
of the dog or the owners knowledge of such viciousness”. Now, something important here is that if the owner has put up a sign in his yard, or front door which specifically, the statute states only needs to be “ displayed in a prominent place” and “easily readable”, and the posted sign says BAD DOG, then the case is much tougher under the statute. This statute has certain “loopholes”. One of them is that this statute which discusses an owner’s lesser liability if there is a BAD DOG sign also states that there are still remedies available under any other remedy, such as another statute, or common law. Another loophole or exception is that even if there is a BAD DOG sign, if the child is under age 6, then the fact that there is a sign does not matter. DANGEROUS DOGS: Certain dogs are called “dangerous dogs” under Florida Statutes. These dogs include those that have previously bitten, but if that dog has not previously bitten someone, it has to have at least “aggressively... endangered a human being on public or private property.” Fla. Stat 767.11 (a) The dog may also be considered a “dangerous dog” if it has “when unprovoked, chased or approached a person upon the streets, sidewalks or any public grounds in a menacing fashion or apparent attitude of attack” Fla. Stat. 767.11 (1)(d). This requirement is accompanied by the need for a sworn affidavit of at least one person, and the incident must have been “investigated by the appropriate authority”. Such dangerous dogs are required, for example, to be kept in a muzzle. LANDLORD LIABILITY: Well, now let us consider the claim against a landlord for a tenant’s dog biting someone. A landlord may be liable for a tenants dog biting someone if the landlord knew or should have known that the tenant kept a vicious dog on the premises and had the ability to control its presence on the premises. However, lets say that
the dog escapes from the premises and attacks a passing pedestrian.
In such a case, the Courts have at least on one occasion declared
that the Landlord is not responsible for an escaped dog. However,
even if your case is identical to this, it is worth a free phone call
for a free consultation. Each case has unique facts. |
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Areas
of Practice