Remedies available under Pennsylvania's dog bite laws
In Pennsylvania, several different dog bite laws apply when a person is bitten and injured. The applicable laws include the state's dog bite statutes, the cases that have interpreted the statutes and the common law. The dog attack laws in Pennsylvania, located at 3 P.S. § 459-501-A through § 459-507-A, are commonly referred to as a group as simply the dangerous dog statute. The available remedies to victims depend on whether the dog has ever bitten a person before as well as the severity of the resulting injuries.
The Pennsylvania dangerous dog statute and the common law
The dangerous dog statute allows a person who is attacked by a dog to recover full compensation for all of his or her losses if the dog has previously bitten another person. This type of legal rule is called a one-bite rule. Because the previous bite put the owner on notice that the dog had a propensity for aggression and to bite, the owner will be held to be responsible for paying for the victim's medical expenses and all other losses through the use of the common law principle of scienter.
Under the statutes, two different potential remedies are available to victims in situations in which the dog has never bitten anyone before. Victims are placed into two classes. Those whose injuries are classified as severe may recover all losses, including medical expenses and the associated legal costs. Severe injuries include broken bones and disfiguring wounds that require multiple stitches or correction with cosmetic surgery. People whose injuries are not classed as severe may still recover damages, but their damages are limited to the amounts attributable to their medical bills.
Negligence and negligence per se claims
Both severely and non-severely injured victims have another avenue for recovery. They can sue the dog's owner under the legal tort theories of negligence or negligence per se. This will require them to prove that the dog owner owed them a duty of care. They must then show that the dog owner's actions breached that duty and that their injuries directly resulted from that breach. With this approach, they may seek full compensation for their losses even if their injuries do not meet the statutory classification as severe ones.
People who are injured by an attacking dog may want to get advice from a personal injury attorney who has experience with dog bite cases. An attorney may be better able to advise his or her clients regarding the best legal approach to take in their particular situations.
