Dog Bites

Serving Hartford, Waterbury, New Haven and Surrounding Areas

Every year, about 4 million people suffer a dog bite in the U.S., even though every state has laws to prevent dog bites. Cities and counties all have their own dog laws as well. Together they add up to the dog bite law of each particular location, and the legal situations can be complicated.

Some states allow for one "free" bite, meaning that the first time a dog bites someone, the owner is not held liable (unless there are other circumstances indicating liability). But thereafter, he is.

Connecticut is not a "one free bite" state. Connecticut has a dog bite statute which regards a dog’s previous behavior as immaterial, and focuses on the owner’s behavior, or that of the person in control of the dog at the time it bit someone.

Many dog bite victims are children, and are bitten by their own family’s dog or a neighbor’s dog. Most dogs are not vicious, although some breeds have been identified as being more likely to bite: pit bulls, German shepherds, Rottweilers and wolf hybrids, for example. But any dog will bite if it feels threatened, and teasing or provoking a dog is never a good idea.

Some things that must be proven

1. Negligence
   If you or your child or loved one have been injured by a dog bite, negligence must be proved for you to obtain redress. The dog owner, handler, or person in control of the dog must be shown to have been negligent. Examples might be:
   • Allowing the dog to walk unleashed
   • Letting the dog off the leash to play with another dog
   • Inviting a child to your home but not adequately restraining your dog
   In some cases, premises liability enters the mix. For example, a property owner might fail to warn visitors of the presence of a “dangerous dog”, or might fail to adequately restrain their dog, to repair broken fences or to keep gates closed. If the visitor bitten was trespassing however, he would have no valid claim.
2. Proximate cause
   If you are bitten by a dog, you need to show that the dog owner’s negligence was the proximate cause. That means that the negligence was very closely related to the bite injury.

If you or your child or loved one has suffered a dog bite, contact an experienced dog bite lawyer as soon as possible. Medical care is of course always the first step, but remember that there’s a statute of limitations that sets the period of time in which you can file a legal claim. Before any claim is actually filed, your dog bite lawyer must do a lot of research, so remember to allow time for that. At Trantolo & Trantolo LLC, we have successfully obtained compensation for many dog bite victims and know how to get it done. Please contact us today.

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