Animal Attack Injuries

Frequently referred to as “dog-bite” cases because of the recent proliferation of attack dog-related injuries, animal attack cases are a particularly detailed area of personal injury law. Animal attack injuries generally occur in one of two common situations: where a person is attacked upon lawful entry onto the animal owner’s property, and where an attack takes place outside of the animal owner’s property. But regardless of where an animal attack victim has suffered the injury, California law attaches strict liability to the owner. This means that the animal owner is liable for the injuries caused by the attack regardless of the level of care used in guarding against an attack. Whereas most other areas of personal injury law require a showing of the defendant’s negligence in causing harm, animal attacks are one particular area where the victim need not show any misconduct on the part of the defendant in order to recover. Provided the plaintiff has actually suffered an injury from an animal attack, and absent a few exceptions listed below, he/she may recover for injuries sustained in the attack.

Some common defenses against an animal attack recovery include provocation (i.e. where the victim provoked the animal attack), unlawful trespassing (i.e. where the victim is injured as an unforeseeable trespasser on the animal owner’s premises), and felony acts (i.e. where the attack victim is injured in the commission of a felony).

Dog bite cases are becoming more and more prevalent as particularly fierce and dangerous animals now function as common household pets. If you have suffered from any type of animal attack, remember that California is a no-fault liability state, meaning that the victim can recover for damages without showing any type of fault on the part of the owner. For a free confidential case assessment, please contact The Law Office of Aman N. Shah at 714-312-3974.