Dog Bites – Knowing the Law as a Dog Owner or Injured Victim

New Orleans is a dog-friendly city, and we locals unabashedly and publicly display our love for man’s best friend. Dog owners throughout Louisiana love to take their canines to traditional locations, such as the city streets, parks or dedicated dog parks. However, most people in New Orleans won’t find it strange to see a dog hanging around at a local bar or other untraditional locale as well. Yes, our love for these four-legged family members and where we are allowed to take them make this city a unique place to live, but dog owners should always be mindful of their pooch and the injuries they could cause to others.

Every year in the United States, there are millions of incidents in which a person is bitten and injured by a dog. If you live in or around the New Orleans area, it is important to know your rights and obligations whether you are the owner of the dog or the injured victim.

La. Civ. Code art. 2321 provides that an owner of any animal is liable for damages caused by that animal only upon a showing that he or she knew or should have known that his or her animal’s behavior would cause damage, that the damage could have been prevented by the exercise of reasonable care, and that he or she failed to exercise such reasonable care.

However, under La. Civ. Code art. 2321, the owner of a dog is strictly liable for injuries to persons or property caused by the dog. Strict liability simply means that the dog owner is responsible for an injury, regardless of whether he or she knew or reasonably should have known that the dog was dangerous. Nonetheless, to hold the dog owner liable, an injured victim must show that the dog owner could have prevented the injury and that the injury was not caused by the injured person’s own provocation of the dog.

For more information about your responsibilities as a dog owner or your rights as an injured victim of a dog, you can contact our firm by filling out our free, no obligation case review form located on this website.