Did you know that California has a strict liability dog bite statute? It states that the owner of a dog is liable for damages inflicted by the dog if it bites a person who is either in a public place or lawfully in a private place, including the property of the owner of the dog, regardless of the former viciousness of the dog or the owner's knowledge of such viciousness. California Civil Code Section 3342.
Therefore, the dog owner is liable regardless of whether the dog had ever been vicious before and regardless of whether the owner had reason to believe it would behave in a vicious manner. The dog doesn't get "one bite free."
In all dog bite cases, it is necessary that prompt measures be taken to preserve evidence, investigate the incident in question, and to enable physicians and other expert witnesses to thoroughly evaluate all injuries.
The majority of dog bite cases only allow that the injured party is able to collect damages designed to make him/her "whole"; however, in circumstances where it can be proven that a particular dog had demonstrated vicious behavior in the past, then there's the possibility that the party can also recover what are known as "punitive" damages. These damages are designed not for the purpose of making the injured party "whole," but rather, to punish the wrongful conduct of the dog owner who knowingly has a vicious animal which could cause harm to innocent people. In the event that punitive damages are warranted, the amount of money the injured party can recover would be substantially more than in the typical case.
A. Jason Kerckhoff is a San Diego dog bite injury lawyer and the President of Kerckhoff Law, APC, a San Diego wrongful death law firm dedicated to representing people who have been seriously injured or killed, and the families of loved ones who have suffered death caused by the negligence of another.
A. Jason Kerckhoff has been successfully obtaining excellent results for his clients for more than twenty-five years. He has the highest rating in Martindale-Hubbell, which is the preeminent company that rates attorneys not only for their abilities, but for their ethics. These ratings are obtained by peers in the San Diego community, and a small percentage of lawyers are privileged to have achieved this rating.
Serving San Diego, El Centro, and Imperial County.
