There is strict liability imposed on dog owners. | Bowling Green, OH dog attack lawyers

The laws and rules governing dog bites in Ohio differ from those applied to other injury claims. To prove negligence in a normal case - a traffic accident, for instance - the injured person has to prove that the other driver had a duty not to injure him; the other driver violated that duty; and that the violation of that duty caused certain injuries for which financial compensation should be awarded.

In a dog-bite case, the victim doesn't need to show that the owner or keeper of the dog had a duty, or responsibility, to see that the dog didn't cause injury. In Ohio, the owner, keeper, or harborer of a dog is strictly liable for all injures or damages to property caused by the dog. Boiled down, what that means is that the injured person just needs to show that the dog bite caused injuries and that compensation should be awarded for medical bills and pain and suffering.

Holding the owner, keeper, or harborer of a dog strictly liable for any injuries works to the advantage of the dog-bite victim. It makes the case much easier to prove and eliminates a lot of barriers to holding the dog's owner responsible. Dog owners have just a few defenses: If the victim was criminally trespassing or attempting to trespass, or was teasing, tormenting, or abusing the dog.

These rules are drawn from the most relevant state law for dog-bite cases, namely Ohio Revised Code 955.28(B). That section of the code says: "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 a trespass or other criminal offense on the property of the owner, keeper, or harborer, or was committing or attempting to commit a criminal offense against any person, or was teasing, tormenting, or abusing the dog on the owner's, keeper's, or harborer's property."

The statute speaks of owners, keepers, and harborers. The definition of an owner is pretty straightforward, but the terms "keeper" and "harborer" are a bit less clear.

A keeper is a person who maintains some type of control over the dog, even if only on a temporary basis. So someone who is caring for a dog or is in charge of a dog can be termed a keeper.

A harborer is a person who controls the place where a dog lives. Someone can be a harborer even if they simply allow a dog to live in the home without protesting its presence. That definition would seem to include landlords, but that's not necessarily the case. Please see the section below on landlord liability.

If you or someone you know has suffered personal injury from a dog bite contact our Toledo, Ohio accident attorneys to order your FREE copy of The Ohio Dog Bite Book.