Tampa Dog Bite Attorney

“No, Oscar, no!” If you’ve ever been the victim of a dog bite attack, you know how scary it is to know that an owner has lost control of their animal. While there are steps that you can take to minimize your risk for an attack from a dog, there are situations where you’re at risk and there’s little that you can do.

With the spate of stories in Tampa Bay about more vicious dogs and laws in some cities banning them from city limits or restricting their ability to roam free, it’s becoming increasingly clear that these attacks can have a significant impact on people when they are injured or worse.

The good news is that owners who cannot control their animals are responsible for all damages caused by their pets in the state of Florida and in several other jurisdictions when those damages are against another person or a domestic animal or livestock.

Now there are several key things to keep in mind. One is that if you are above the age of six in Florida, a sign reading “Bad Dog” or something similar can constitute a strong enough warning that there could be the potential for injury by staying on the premises.

The other is that the person attacked needs to be on the property of the owner lawfully, and cannot be attacking or tormenting the dog, the owner, or the owner’s family. But the truth of the matter is that the dogs are the responsibility of their owner in Florida.

In large part, these actions are magnified by the criminal code revolving around so-called “dangerous dogs,” ones that have been shown by investigation to either menace or attack people or animals without being provoked. I’ll talk more in future articles about what those provisions mean and how they can affect civil and criminal cases.