How Strict Liability Applies in a Dog Bite Case

What happens when man’s best friend turns against you? If you are ever the unfortunate victim of a dog bite, you should know how to take action. In more than half of the states, a statute called strict liability is in place to make sure that the victim is able to seek the appropriate damages.

Strict Liability

In Utah, the strict liability statute ensures that the owner of the dog is responsible for the animal’s actions. This statute imposes liability without fault. This means that the victim of the dog bite does not have to prove that the owner did anything wrong in the incident. Even if it is the dog’s first instance of violence, the owner is still responsible for the actions of the dog under strict liability.

So, regardless of whether or not the owner thought the dog was dangerous, they are still held liable for the injuries sustained by the victim. Victims of a dog bite in states such as Utah are permitted to recover damages for medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and property damage.

Caveats to Strict Liability

While strict liability does not have many loop holes, there are two outstanding circumstances where the owner might not be liable for the actions of the dog. If the plaintiff was not legally allowed to be where the incident took place, the owner is not always liable. The owner of the dog is also not always considered responsible if it can be proven that the plaintiff provoked the dog.

In these two situations, the owner is able to avoid liability without fault if they are able to prove that these circumstances are applicable to their case.

Police Dogs

Under Utah code 18–1–1, law enforcement is exempt from liability without fault. In this code, the peace officer, country, town or city is not held liable for the actions of the trained dog during an arrest or while the dog is “maintaining or controlling public order”.

Sydney Smith is a legal writer reporter for Fusion 360, a Content Marketing Agency. Information provided by Robert J Debry.

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