If you or your child has been bitten by a dog in Ohio, it is important to make sure you have a clear understanding of your legal rights. Not only can dog bites be painful, but they can also be expensive—and, in many cases, they can leave physical and emotional scars that last a lifetime. Fortunately, Ohio’s dog bite liability laws are not only clear, but they are also favorable to victims and their families. Find out what you need to know from an experienced Columbus dog bite lawyer at Malek & Malek Law Firm.

What Is “Liability”?

Before we talk about liability in Ohio dog bite cases specifically, we should first talk about the term “liability” itself. What does it mean for someone to be “liable”?

Liability is the term for legal responsibility. If someone is liable for an accident or attack, this means that he or she is legally responsible—and this means that he or she can be held financially accountable. Filing a liability claim provides the opportunity to recover just compensation—and, in many cases, it is the only way to cover the financial and non-financial costs of serious accident-related or attack-related injuries.

Under Ohio law, there are two main grounds for establishing liability:

• Negligence – Individuals and businesses can be held liable when their negligence is to blame for others’ injuries. Being negligent roughly translates to making a mistake, though mistakes don’t rise to the level of actionable negligence in all cases.
• Strict Liability – While proof of negligence is required in most cases, sometimes individuals and businesses can be held “strictly liable” for victims’ injuries. When strict liability applies, a party can be held financially accountable for an incident simply due to the dangerous nature of the incident itself.

When you need to seek just compensation for an accident, it is critical to know whether you have a claim based on negligence or a claim based on strict liability. While both types of claims require evidence, negligence claims generally require more evidence—and, as a result, they are generally more difficult to prove.

Liability for Dog Bites in Ohio

This brings us to the topic of liability for dog bites. Under Ohio law, dog owners—and certain other individuals and businesses—can be held strictly liable for dog bites in most cases. This is based on Section 955.28(B) of the Ohio Revised Code:

“The owner, keeper, or harborer of a dog is liable in damages for any injury, death, or loss to person or property that is caused by the dog, unless the injury, death, or loss was caused to the person or property of an individual who, at the time, was committing or attempting to commit criminal trespass or another criminal offense other than a minor misdemeanor . . . or was teasing, tormenting, or abusing the dog on the owner’s, keeper’s, or harborer’s property.”

As you can see, there is a lot to unpack here. But, while this language may seem complicated at first, Ohio’s dog bite law provides attack victims and their families with clear legal rights in most circumstances. Here are some of the key points:

• “The owner, keeper, or harborer of a dog” – Ohio’s dog bite statute establishes strict liability for the “owner, keeper, or harborer” of a dog that bites a victim. While the term “owner” is fairly clear, “keeper” and “harborer” are not. These terms cover a wide range of parties, from landlords to dog walkers to kennel owners.
• “Is liable in damages for any injury, death, or loss to a person or property” – This is the strict liability portion of Ohio’s dog bite statute. By stating that an owner, keeper or harbor “is liable in damages,” the statute eliminates the need for evidence of negligence. If a dog bites someone, the attack alone is sufficient to establish a claim for just compensation.
• “Unless . . . caused [due to] committing or attempting to commit criminal trespass or another criminal offense” – While Ohio’s dog bite statute establishes strict liability for owners, keepers and harborers, it also establishes a couple of exceptions to strict liability. One of these exceptions is for cases in which the victim is committing a criminal trespass or other criminal offense at the time of the attack. However, in this case, there is an exception to the exception—strict liability still applies if the offense is a “minor misdemeanor on the property of the owner, keeper, or harborer, or . . . against any person.”
• “Or [due to] teasing, tormenting, or abusing the dog” – The second exception to strict liability for dog bites in Ohio applies in cases in which the victim was “teasing, tormenting, or abusing the dog.” However, this exception only applies if the teasing, tormenting, or abusing occurs on the owner’s, keeper’s or harborer’s property. Additionally, if a child is too young to realize that he or she is tormenting a dog, the child’s family may still be able to pursue a claim for just compensation.

Making Sure You Don’t Run Out of Time to File a Dog Bite Claim in Ohio

In short, if you or your child was bitten by a dog in Ohio, there is a good chance that you have a claim for just compensation. However, to recover just compensation, you need to file your strict liability claim in time. Ohio’s statute of limitations for dog bite claims is two years from the date of the attack in most cases. But, waiting to take legal action can make it more difficult to collect the evidence needed to prove your legal rights; and, with this in mind, it is best if you speak with a Columbus dog bite lawyer as soon as possible.

Speak with a Columbus Dog Bite Lawyer for Free

Do you need to know more about filing a liability claim for a dog attack in Ohio? If so, we encourage you to contact us promptly. To speak with an experienced Columbus dog bite lawyer for free, call 888-444-7440 or tell us how we can reach you online today.