One Thing You Should Do If Injured By An Animal

We all know pet lovers, if you aren’t one yourself, you most definitely know someone who is. For many pet lovers, we love and treat our pets like they are a part of our families, for many of us they are our “babies.” And just like parents are liable for the wrongs of their children, pet lovers are liable for the wrongs of their pets.

WAFB reports that a St. Helena Parish woman was viciously attacked by nine dogs. The women told WAFB, “they were pulling me in all which ways, and when I fell on the side of the road, that’s when they started dragging me in the ditch.” A local motorist saw the incident occurring and stepped in to help, but not before the woman was bitten 19 times. The woman later stated that, “every time I think about being down in that ditch, I start crying because I really thought I was dead. I really thought I was going to die.”

In the incident reported by WAFB the dogs who attacked the victim came off private property but they weren’t the property owner’s dogs. But what happens when a person is attacked by a pet who has an owner?

Louisiana law provides that “the owner of an animal is answerable for the damages caused by the animal.” In order for the owner to be liable, proof must be shown that (1) he knew or, in the exercise of reasonable care, should have known that his animal’s behavior would cause damage, (2) that the damage could have been prevented by the exercise of reasonable care, and (3) he failed to exercise such reasonable care. The owner of a dog is strictly liable for damages for injuries to persons or property caused by the dog and which the owner could have prevented. However, the owner is not strictly liable for injuries caused by the victim’s provocation. The strict liability of an animal owner cannot be delegated to a non-owner.

Therefore, if the woman in the article reported by WAFB had been bitten by dogs who had an owner, she would likely recover damages for her injuries. Since she was bitten by dogs who had no owner, she is not likely to recover damages. Although the dogs she was bitten by came off private property, Louisiana law does not allow her to file suit against the property owners, who have asserted they are not the owners of the violent dogs.