In Arizona, the dog’s owner is held responsible for the
first bite, no matter the breed. Some common questions include whether a dog
gets “one free bite”, whether the dog’s breed matters, or whether the owner had
knowledge the dog would bite. In
Arizona, the answer to all three questions is “no.” Arizona law provides “[t]he
owner of a dog which bites a person when the person is in or on a public place
or lawfully in or on a private place, including the property of the owner of
the dog, is liable for damages suffered by the person bitten, regardless of the
former viciousness of the dog or the owner’s knowledge of its viciousness.”
Arizona Revised Statute 11-1025 (A).
This type of law is known as ‘strict liability’ meaning the
owner’s knowledge or mental state plays no role in deciding his liability
(legal responsibility). Thus, if a dog injured you with a bite, it does not
matter that the dog never bit anyone before, it does not matter the dog’s
breed, and the owner’s knowledge does not matter either. Now, if the owner
intentionally made the dog bite you, that is a whole different scenario of
intentional torts.
Here, with the common dog bite, the owner will most likely
be held responsible for your injury and you should discuss your legal options
with an attorney who regularly handles personal injury cases.
In Arizona, the dog owner will not be responsible if the
injured person was trespassing or In Arizona, the only defense to a dog bite
is that the injured person trespassed, or provoked the dog. The statute
discussed above requires the person to be in a “public place or lawfully in or
on a private place”. Thus, if you are not lawfully allowed to be where you were
bitten, ie trespassing, the dog owner has a valid defense. Arizona law also
provides “[p]roof of provocation of the attack by the person injured shall be a
defense to the action for damages.”
Arizona Revised Statute 11-1027. Here, the court system
determined that the “common law defenses of contributory negligence and
assumption of risk superseded.” Massey v. Colaric, 151 Ariz. 65, 725 P.2d 1099
(1986). This means the dog owner cannot argue that the injured person assumed
the risk such as coming towards the dog or offering a hand to the dog. The only
valid defenses are if the injured person was trespassing or if the dog owner
can prove that the injured person provoked the dog. In Arizona, the bite victim
has one year to file a lawsuit or settle a claim.
Another question is how much time an injured person has to
hold the dog owner responsible. Arizona law provides, “[t]here shall be
commenced and prosecuted within one year after the cause of action accrues, and
not afterward, the following actions… (5) Upon a liability created by statute.
Arizona Revised Statute 12-541. Dog bite liability falls under this time
limitation. Thus, an injured person has one year from the day of the bite to
either file a lawsuit or settle a claim.
To properly investigate and build your case in this very
short time span, you should speak with an attorney who regularly handles personal
injury cases.
We hope this brief overview has given you a glimpse into
your options after a dog bite. This article is only a starting point, however,
and has not discussed many topics such as what money damages to expect, how to
find the defendant’s insurance policies or other potential common law actions
with a two-year statute of limitations. If you or a loved one is the victim of
a dog attack, we advise talking with an experienced personal injury law firm.
Call us today at Accident Law Group and sit down with a licensed and
experienced personal injury attorney for a free initial consultation.
Contact Us:
Accident Law Group
Phoenix, Arizona
Google
Site: https://sites.google.com/view/accident-law-group/home
Official
Site: https://www.accidentlawgroup.com/
Here at
Accident Law Group, our entire firm handles only accident/injury cases. 100% of
our work is building, arguing, and winning injury cases just like yours. It is
what our founding partners named the firm, because accidents are all we focus
on.
15650 N
Black Canyon Highway, Suite B-155, Phoenix, AZ 85053
(602)
262-4254
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