Serving Dog Bite Victims in Macon

Laws vary from state to state with respect to how and when a dog owner is liable for an injury caused by their dog. In Georgia, the law that creates dog owner liability actually applies to any animal. If a person is harmed by a dog in Georgia, they must show three things in order to be eligible for compensation.

1. The dog in question must be deemed vicious or dangerous

This means, that in some cases, the owner must be aware of the dog’s tendency to be aggressive or dangerous. If there is evidence that suggests the dog has displayed vicious behavior in the past, then that could suffice. In some cases though, there might not be previously recorded instances of the dog behaving in an aggressive manner. Fortunately for dog bite victims, if there is a city ordinance stating dogs must be on leashes, and the dog was not, then this is sufficient to satisfy the statute. In Montezuma, Georgia, for example, it is unlawful to allow a dog to “run at large,” unless the dog is restrained on a leash or “otherwise in the immediate control” of the owner.

2. The owner must have acted carelessly in allowing the animal to roam “at liberty”

If the dog was not leashed in an area that required leashes, this would be enough to indicate the owner was not sufficiently cautious. If the owner kept the dog in a fenced in yard that the dog had previously escaped from, this could also potentially suffice. There must be some evidence that the owner did not properly restrain or contain the dog.

3. The person who suffered the injury must not have provoked the animal

When a person provokes a dog, the dog owner will not be typically be found liable.