Florida Dog Bite Laws: What Victims Need to Know About Liability and Compensation
Dog owners should have control of their pets so that others are safe from being bitten. When a dog bites, Florida’s dog bite laws hold dog owners accountable for the resulting damages to victims. Dog owners in Florida are strictly liable for injuries that another person suffers from their dog.
If you were hurt by another party’s dog in Florida, then you may be able to secure compensation for your harm. The Tampa dog bite injury attorneys at Fulgencio Law know how devastating and traumatic dog bite incidents can be. Wounds from dog bites can lead to infection, disfigurement, nerve damage, and more. Experiencing an attack by a dog can also cause substantial emotional harm. All of the losses you suffered can be included in a dog bite injury claim and an attorney at Fulgencio Law can represent you and aggressively fight for you to obtain the most compensation from your claim.
Filing a Florida Dog Bite Injury Claim
If a dog bites you then the strict liability laws that Florida follows mean that the dog’s owner will be liable. Strict liability laws make it easier for victims to obtain compensation because they also remove any requirement for proving negligence on behalf of the dog’s owner. This is true no matter where a dog bite incident takes place. A dog bite victim has the right to compensation if they are bit in a public place or if they are bit in a private residence.
While strict liability protects most dog bite victims it doesn’t protect everyone who a dog attacks in all situations. Specifically, suppose there are warning signs on a property about the dangers of a dog and someone still enters the property uninvited, and the dog attacks. As long as the dog owner was not negligent and did not violate a local leash law then in that case, the property owners may not be liable for that individual’s damages as long as the individual is older than six years of age.
Another situation where a dog bite victim may be limited in their ability to recover compensation would be if they provoked a dog. In this scenario, the dog bite victim may be partly responsible for causing the attack and their injuries. Under Florida’s comparative negligence system, individuals who contribute to their injury accident may have their compensation reduced by how much fault they are deemed to have.
It is imperative that dog bite victims do not wait to take legal action and file their claims. Florida’s dog bite statute of limitations is just two years from when the dog bite happened. When filing a dog bite accident claim damages including medical expenses, missed wages, pain and suffering, and emotional distress may all be included. Sometimes, and in very limited instances, when there was gross negligence on behalf of the dog’s owner, then punitive damages may also be awarded to a dog bite victim.
Call Fulgencio Law Today
If you were injured by another party’s dog, please call Fulgencio Law today at (813) 463-0123 to schedule a free consultation with a Tampa dog bite injury attorney.